Deep Wounds
by InuFan-Kenhandora
Summary: Kagome was a lonesome high school girl with a very problematic life that drove her to the edge quite a few times. Upon the arrival of a new student at school, she is able to befriend him. Soon they discover that they are bettered when they are together.
1. The New Guy

**Chapter One: The New Guy**

_AIEEEEEEEEE!_ screamed Kagome's mind as a loud beeping rang in her ears, causing her to jump up and fall out of bed. She collected her senses a moment and reached up onto the nightstand to shut off the incessant noise the alarm made. From there she untangled herself from the mass of black and hot pink blanket that had followed her to the floor.

She stood up straight, her long pajama bottoms sliding down her legs as she stretched out. Yawning, she ran her fingers through her long raven hair and turned to look out the window. It was still dark, which meant she had plenty of time to get ready and get out of the house before anyone else woke up. Neither her mother nor her brother were ever up before the sun.

She bent down and grabbed the fallen sheets up in one large pile and dropped them in a heaping mass upon her bed. Then she turned on the lamp that sat on the nightstand. It illuminated the room in a blinding brightness that made Kagome cover her dark brown eyes and blink a great deal before her eyes adjusted to the change. The light cast an eerie glow around her room.

It was dark. Her bed was made of dark lacquered wood. It had black sheets with hot pink pillows and striped comforter in those same colors. Her dresser was painted black and her floor was a dark polished wood that was always cold on her feet. Her vanity was a dark cherry wood and had belonged to her mother. The walls were a dark pink with a black rose border. Her father had made her room this way just for her.

Now she headed over to her dresser and rummaged through the drawers until she found something she liked. After that she went into the bathroom that was adjoined with her room and took the clothes she had gathered with her. Ten or so minutes later, she emerged wearing a long sleeved black shirt with a scoop neck that had pink splatter across the front and a pair of dark blue denim jeans that were so worn they had holes in the knees.

Heading over to her vanity this time, she flopped down in the cushioned circular seat. In an indifferent manner she reached out and pulled all of her makeup so that it was easier for her to get to. She grabbed her brush and smoothed out her hair before putting it into a tight bun. From there she removed a few large wisps all around and stuck them out straight with colored hair gel in hot pink. She turned her head to examine herself and nodded in approval when she was done.

After that, she started putting on her face. A light colored base that matched her pale skin and a glossy pink lip balm. She used dark colors for her eyes, going a bit heavy on the eye liner and giving her a sultry Egyptian appearance.

For the finishing touch was her collection of rubber bracelets. She had them in an array of colors for any outfit she would want to wear. Today, she chose a simple black and pink mix. She spiced that up with a black chain choker with tiny pink circles that went around it. Lastly, she added two matching silver claw rings – one on either middle finger.

Now that her morning routine had finished, she could feel her stomach growling. Getting up she turned off her light and carefully moved to the door. She opened it a crack and glanced down the hallway. Both of the other bedroom doors were still closed and the house was still dark. So, she cautiously snuck from her room, down the hall, and crept down the stairs ending up in the living room.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and went into the kitchen, turning on the light so she could see better. She got herself an empty bowl and a spoon before making herself a bowl of cereal. She ate it slowly and quietly, just sitting there at the table. When she was done, she put her bowl in the sink and filled it with water. She left the kitchen, turned off the light, and went to the front door in the living room.

By the heavy oak door were her favorite pair of black flip flops with white skull and crossbones on them and her army surplus canvas messenger bag. She put on her sandals and reached down to grab her bag when she heard someone shuffling their feet upstairs. She knew it was either her mother or her brother and did not want to see either, so she snatched up her bag quickly and opened the door.

She closed it just as quickly and as quietly as she could, breathing easier now that she was outside. She walked down the front steps and made her way down the sidewalk on her way to school. She pulled out her headphones and iPod, the turned on loud punk rock music, making sure the volume was as high as it could go. After that, she went into a daze, become both blind and deaf to the world around her.

Out of nowhere, she ran into something hard and fell backwards, landing hard on her butt. She pulled off her headphones and looked up to see a young man, about her age, standing there looking at her. He was quite handsome with golden-honey eyes and long silver hair that was tied in a low ponytail. He had on a pair of old blue jeans that were about to fall apart at the seams and a black t-shirt with 'Do you hear that? It's the sound of no one caring.' in bold, capitalized white letters across the front.

"You okay?" he asked, looking down at her nonchalantly and raising an eyebrow at her, but nonetheless extended a hand to help her up. She nodded, took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. She wiped the dirt off of her pants and turned to him.

"Sorry about that." she said as they began walking again. "I just lose myself from time to time."

"It's fine, I get the same way." he told her. "By the way, my name is InuYasha."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kagome." she said, extending a hand to shake his. "I don't know that many people, but I can assume that you are new around here. Am I right?"

"Yea, I just moved here a few days ago." he said as they approached a large stone building that was at the heart of the city. Over the front doorway read 'North Shikon High School.'

"Well, here we are. I've got to get to my first period before the teacher bites my head off, but maybe I'll see you around." she said to him, walking away and waving a bit. After he was out of sight she made a mad dash across the school, making it to her class just before the bell rang.

"Cutting it close again, are we Ms. Higurashi?" the teacher said to her in a snide voice. "Take your seat."

Kagome nodded and walked to the back of the classroom, taking her seat in the last row. She always sat there, alone. She didn't have friends and her peers were less than inclined to try to be one. She was an outcast and she had been for as long as she could remember.

"So, why are you getting here so late?" called a snide voice from the seat right and diagonally of her own. "Take a quick stop to suck on some dog?"

"Nah, she probably fucked it instead. She's disgusting like that." voiced in another girl who sat in front of her. The two girls giggled when she didn't reply and returned to their own conversation. Kagome simply wrapped her arms around her head and stared at her desk, blocking out the voice of the teacher as she tried to keep herself collected.

The class was, as usual, quite drawn out and utterly dull. It was a welcome relief when the bell rang, letting her know she could go to her next class. It was her favorite class, art. She wasn't all that good, but it was an easy class to do and gave her a way to express herself in the best way she could. She made her way down the hall when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked back; half expecting to see one of the many pricks of the school, but instead saw the boy from that morning. She stopped and turned to look at him, an amused smile on her face. He smiled back at her.

"Hey." he said. "Remember me?"

"Of course, how could I forget the guy I ran into?" she told him, laughing quietly. "Are you lost or something?

"Yea, a little. I'm trying to find the art class, but the map they gave me sucks. I swear, it looks like it hasn't been updated in years." he told her, waving a folded piece of paper with scribbled drawings on it.

"I know the feeling. Freshman year was hell." she told him, adjusting the strap of her messenger bag. "Anyway, I can take you to the art room, I'm heading there myself."

"Cool." he said to her. "Lead the way."

Kagome nodded and turned back, making her way down one hallway after another until they were at the far end of the building where the art wing was. Once there, he went to talk with the teacher about starting an assignment while she went to her station and got out her supplies. She had been working on a sketch inspired a girl she had seen in the park. It was a girl sitting on her knees staring into the duck pond. The hair hung in the girls face and she was crying. Kagome had committed that scene to memory, finding it oddly inspiring.

Now her drawing was a bit different. Her girl was looking into a broken mirror and had two fingers to her head like her hand was a gun. In the mirror, you could see that the girl was in tears, her makeup running. Kagome smiled, unaware of the plot that was being made against her.

A girl with dark hair, tied up in a high ponytail whispered quietly to her friends. The occasionally glanced over at Kagome as she worked on her drawing. Then, in one swift motion, she passed by her and kicked the chair, making Kagome lose her balance and fall out. Kagome got up and gave the girl an evil glare.

"Oops. I'm soooo sorry." the girl said in a mocking tone.

"No you're not, you little bitch. You did that on purpose." Kagome spat at her.

"Whatever." the girl said, turning back to her friends and giggling lightly, as well as making comments about how amusing it was.

_Kikyo is such a little bitch. I'd just like to slash her obnoxious vocal cords._ Kagome thought to herself as she picked up her drawing off the floor. It was crumpled and dirty. The girl sighed and slipped it into her work folder, not wanting to work on that anymore. Instead, she got out a carving of a rose that she had been working on for some time now.

Ever so carefully, she took the cutting knife and shaved off parts of the thick wood. Kikyo, thinking it would be funny to mess up this creation as well, made her way over to Kagome's table again. Before she had the chance, Kagome swiveled around, wielding the tool as a weapon.

"Back off Kikyo." Kagome hissed through gritting her teeth as she stood to face the other girl. "I'm sick of your shit."

"What are you going to do, cut me? Yea right." Kikyo taunted. "You haven't got the guts _or_ the brains to try that. So why don't _you_ back off. Stupid cunt.

Kagome tightened her grip on the tool until her knuckles were white and blew out of her nose hard, but instead of rising to meet the challenge, she let it go. Kikyo scoffed and made a snide remark under her breath that Kagome didn't hear before walking back to talk with her snobby friends.

InuYasha had watched the entire ordeal and worried about Kagome. He liked her. She seemed like a very nice person and didn't need to put up with the shit that the other girl gave her. If it was him, he would have slashed at her, maybe even swung a punch or two. However, it was good to know that someone had more control than him when it came to tough situations.

He put down his work and went over to check on her. He grabbed a chair and turned to look at her, noticing that she still had a death grip on the knife. As gently as he could, he put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She loosened her grip and put the knife down. Her eyes were glazed over and her face was expressionless as she turned to look at him as well.

"I saw what happened." he told her. "Is everything okay now, or should I go rattle her cage a little?"

"I'm fine." she told him in a choked voice before she swallowed hard. It's just I'm so sick of her attitude. She's such a bitch and thinks that she's so God damned high and might. Just once I'd like to kick her off of her high horse."

"Well, I'd agree with you there." he said, smiling a little in attempts to better her mood. Kagome gave him a half-hearted smiled and turned away. Silently she went back to her work. InuYasha waited a moment, and when he knew that she was done talking, went back to his own work.

When the class came to an end, he noticed that his newfound friend left in quite a rush. She hadn't even put away her work. It had struck him as odd that she was so careless after seeming so concerned for her work before. He would have to ask her about it when he saw her again. However, he decided to help her out and went over to put her things away. He slipped the carving into the cubby marked with her name and turned back to put the carving knife away, but found that it was oddly absent from the spot where it had been. Now he definitely was wondering what was going on in that girls mind. Now leaving the empty classroom, he felt a need to go to a quiet place for a while


	2. Dangerous Secrets

**Chapter Two: Dangerous Secrets**

Kagome breathed with a sigh of relief to get away from that classroom. Her head ached with the need to release the pressure and just get loose from reality for a bit. It was lunchtime, and she had plenty of time to get done with what she was doing without being missed by her friends. It was a usual thing that she did, especially after an encounter with Kikyo. It was her escape, her only escape from the hellish life she was forced to deal with.

Weaving her way through the throng of people she burst through the stairwell and went under the stairs, where one of the old janitor closets was concealed by the shadows. Looking around her, she rummaged through her bag for her ID card. With it, she slid it into the crack near the knob and managed to flip the lock open. She opened the door and slid inside, locking back up behind her.

She walked in and sat against the bare spot on the wall and leaned her head against it a minute. After that she went into her bag again, putting her ID back and took out the carving knife she had snatched from the art room. She normally brought her own razor blade, but had left it sitting somewhere in her room when she had used it only the night before.

Carefully she rolled up her sleeve and stared down at her arm. It was covered with pale white scars that ran from her wrist up to her elbow. There were also many new cuts, some that were shallow, but others that were deep and scabbed and filled with puss. She looked at them a moment, but still brought the blade to her arm and sunk the blade deep into her flesh. It stung and began to ooze warm crimson blood that drizzled down her arm. She did this many time, reveling in the odd comfort the pain brought her.

She let herself bleed a minute, watching as the blood trickled to the floor and splattered against the dirty concrete. Finished with her grim deed, she pulled out a tissue and wiped away the blood until her wounds had stopped bleeding. Carefully she pulled her sleeve back down and stood up, stretching out her legs before grabbing her bag.

She went to the door, unlocked it, and slipped out as cautiously as she had entered. Her next stop was the courtyard, where she would sit on the steps and read a book for the rest of the lunch hour.

_---In Another Part Of The School---_

InuYasha had been scouring the school for some place private for a good part of the lunch hour, and had been heading down the stairs when he heard a clunk of a door below him. When he finally made it down, he discovered a door beneath the stairs. He walked over to it and jiggled the knob, finding that it was curiously unlocked.

However, he wasn't concerned with that and went inside. The walls were almost completely covered with shelving units full of various junk, but there was one spot of bare wall in the corner. It was right where two units were together and there was just enough room for him to squeeze in between and not be seen should someone walk in.

As he went to go to the spot, he stopped when he saw a disgusting sight. A small pool of deep red blood was just beginning to coagulate on the floor. He knelt down to look closer, placing his hand on one of the shelves for balance when he came across a knife sitting on the shelf. InuYasha grabbed it and saw that it was stained with blood, but more importantly it was the same knife that Kagome had been using in the art room just a short time before.

His mind made the connection and he felt himself become slightly worried. However, the monkey on his back was starting to screech. He sighed and sat down in front of one of the shelving units. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small baggie filled with a white powder, a plastic tube, and a flat sheet of metal. After that he turned around, set the sheet on a shelf, and poured out a small amount of the powder onto it.

InuYasha took a deep breath before using the plastic tube to snort up the powder. He felt satisfied after that and packed away his things as his high over took him. His head swam and he felt an intense calm fall over him. He was indeed in a deep euphoria and it felt quite good. He sat there until the bell rang for him to go to his next class. He got up and left, living the rest of the day in a daze.

---_Back With Kagome_---

She had spent the rest of her lunch out in the courtyard with out any interference. After that she went to class, watching the door for InuYasha and scanning the hallways for him between classes. However, she didn't see him for the rest of the day and gave up her search. She walked home slowly, not wanting to have to face her mother and Souta just yet.

She got home about an hour after school got out, having taken the long way back. As she approached, the familiar blue minivan was parked in the driveway. Opening the door, she entered the house warily as she was not sure what would happen to her. Her mother was sitting on the couch watching the news and turned to look at her daughter with a vicious scowl on her face.

"Kagome Eriko Higurashi, where in the seven hells have you been?" her mother questioned sternly. "You were supposed to have been back nearly an hour ago. I can't believe how stupid you can be sometimes."

"Sorry mom. I won't do it again." said the girl in a monotonous tone as she let her bag fall to the floor and kicked off her sandals by the door.

"Sorry mom." mocked the woman, taking a drink from her coffee mug. "You still need to do the dishes, the laundry, and pick up this sty of a house. I want it done no later than tomorrow or there will be hell to pay."

"Yes mom." Kagome replied, sulking off up the stairs. She had to get away from that woman. She made the girl so angry sometimes she just wanted to scream and give her a good beating. As she made her way, she passed her little brother in the hall. He had all of his trucks and toys out in the hallway.

"Ha ha." taunted the little boy as he sneered at his sister. "You're in trouble. Momma was really mad that nothing got done around here. She said that you were a lazy witch."

"Whatever." she said, accidentally stepping on one of his cars and yelping in pain. He laughed at her discomfort and reached over to get his toy.

"You broke it!" he whined. Kagome was at her bedroom door, but turned to him.

"Then you shouldn't leave your shit all over the floor where it can get stepped on." she spat out. He growled and tossed the car at her, nailing her in the back of the head. She turned on her heels and glared fiercely at him.

"UGH! You little brat! I'm gunna kick your ass!" she screamed and lunged for him. He let out a whine and bolted down the stairs as she made chase. He ran around the back of the couch and jumped next to his mother, clutching her tightly as fake tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Momma! Help! Kagome's going to hurt me!" he bellowed, burying his head in her side. Mrs. Higurashi put him aside gently and stood to face the girl as Kagome stood with her fists clenched so tight the nails were digging into the skin on her palms.

"Stop it right there." she said in a commanding voice. "Leave your brother alone. He did nothing to you."

"He tossed one of his fucking trucks at my head!" said Kagome bitterly as she gritted her teeth together in attempts to stay calm.

"I didn't Momma. She's lying. She just hates me." cried Souta as more fake tears streamed down his face.

"She doesn't hate you sweetie." she said sweetly to the boy before turning to he daughter with rage in her voice said. "Kagome, tell him you don't hate him…NOW."

"I don't hate you Souta." she said in her most convincing voice she could manage. Then out of nowhere, her mother slapped her hard across the face, making her fall to the ground. Kagome simply held her stinging cheek as her brother sniggered from behind. Not wanting to cause anymore trouble for herself, Kagome retreated to her own bedroom, making sure to snatch up some of his toy cars on her way.

Once there she shut her door and locked it up tight. She stared at the toys in her hand and went to the window. Taking each one, she chucked them as far as she could, hearing them smash into the ground below. She sat there a while and watched as random cars came by and ran over the stupid toys.

She smirked happily, but somehow this just wasn't enough for her. She still had a burning need and made her way over to her bed. She flopped down onto the floor and stuck her arm under the mattress. She felt around a bit until her fingers grazed the smooth surface of a cold flat object. Carefully she snatched it up and pulled it out of its hiding place.

She looked at it longingly, examining the glinting surface of the razor blade. It was one of many she had scattered across her room for when she was in a time of need such as this. Just as carefully as before, she rolled up her sleeve and prepared to do her task yet again.


	3. An Abusive Life

**Chapter Three: An Abusive Life**

Kagome had been lying in her bathtub for nearly an hour. She had gone in after mutilating herself and was now staring with deep interest at the tinted water. It wasn't red, more of a dark pink. _I wonder what people would think if they knew. Souta, he'd be as happy as sin because it'd give him something to taunt me with. As for Mom, it would be the perfect opportunity to ship me off to some asylum or a boarding school in Switzerland. Well, I say fuck them all. Fuck them all to Hell._

She picked her arms up from the water and gazed at them. Both were scarred over and had fresh and old cuts running up and down the forearm. Her hands were getting pruned and the water had slowly been losing it's heat. Now it was barely lukewarm, letting her know that she had better get out and go to bed soon. She sighed to herself and pulled out the stopper with her feet by giving a good tug on the chain.

She stood up and squeezed the water from the ends her long hair, listening as it trickled into the water draining below. She grabbed a blue towel off the rack and dried herself before changing into a pair of green and blacked pinstriped pajama bottoms and a plain black spaghetti strap night shirt. After that she brushed out her hair and tied it into a braid, knowing that she would want to bother with it the next day.

She flipped off her light and flopped down onto her bed, curling up beneath the mass of blankets. She reached out and checked to make sure her alarm was on and rolled over, her eyes getting heavier by the minute until she fell into a heavy, dreamless slumber. However, as she slept, a plan against her was being set.

Souta had waited until his mother and his sister had gone to bed before he snuck into the older girl's room. He had found that some of his cars were missing and knew it had to be her. So, he wanted her to get in trouble again. He knew that if his mother got made enough at Kagome, then she would get just what she deserved. This is why he was now crawling across her bedroom floor and up to her nightstand.

The numbers on her alarm clock glowed bright in his face as he checked to make sure the girl in the bed was sleeping soundly. She had her back to him and was breathing deeply. He smirked and reached beneath the stand until his hand met the power cord to her clock. He pulled hard and the plug popped quietly out of the socket as the glow died instantly. She would wake up late and at least miss a class.

This would mean a call home and make their mother believe that she had been up to no good. He grinned wide at the thought of the lashing his witch of a sister would be receiving as he made his way out of her room. He slipped out the door as quiet as a mouse and shut her door before going into his own room and falling into a happy slumber. He never really liked his sister all that much.

---_The Following Day_---

Kagome was forced awake as a bright beam of light pounded against her eyes. She rolled over, trying to ignore the annoyance when the realization that her alarm had never gone off hit her hard. The girl jumped up from her bed and looked at her clock, knowing that she had made sure the alarm was set. The clock face was blank and she noticed that it was unplugged from the wall.

She growled with anger, knowing that she had to be quite late and made a mad dash around her room getting ready. She snagged her jeans from the day before and pulled them on, put on a bra underneath her nightshirt, and grabbed a black zip up hoodie. She threw on the hoodie, not bothering to zip it up, as she stampeded down the stairs. She got on her shoes and snatched her bag before running all the way to school.

The girl burst through the doors and looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that her second period had stared fifteen minutes before. She ran through the halls, avoiding the hall monitors all the way to the art wing. The teacher was pacing around the room as Kagome rambled through the doors. Nearly the entire class looked up at her.

"Ms. Higurashi. You're fifteen minutes late. I'm afraid I'll have to issue you an after-school detention." the teacher said, going to his desk and writing her a detention slip. She took it, not wanting to explain herself to the teacher.

She went to her seat and threw her bag beneath the table and put her head on the table. She wrapped her arms around her head and let out a groan of frustration. InuYasha watched as she got out her work and half-heartedly made an effort to finish it. He put his own things up and walked over to her, being sure that she would appreciate a friend to talk to.

"Yo Kags, what's up?" he asked her. She looked over at him, sighed and turned away, going back to her work and pretending that she actually cared.

"I'm busy right now." she told him when he wouldn't go away. He was about to say something to her, when a rude voice butted in.

"I'm sure Kagsy just had a rough night." Kikyo said with a laugh. "I guess whoring takes a lot out of you. Or was your intention to come to school late and looking like a strangled cat?"

"Hey, why don't you and your skanky little friends back the fuck off?" InuYasha spat at them. Kikyo simple scowled at him, but backed away.

"Come on girls, it looks like the local slut is doing business." she said to her prissy pals. The nodded and walked away to the back of the room, leaving the other two in peace for the time being.

"Thanks." said Kagome, now having set down her things. She gave him one of her usual half-hearted smiles as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's what friends are for." he told her, grinning wide.

"I guess. I just wish that bitch would back off. I never did anything to her, but she still thinks she has a right to terrorize me every fucking day." Kagome spat bitterly.

"She's just a bitch, like you said." InuYasha agreed. "However, I doubt that's the reason why you're all shook up."

"It's just that…ugh." she said, trying to get her thoughts straight. "My stupid little brother got all pissed off yesterday because I stepped on one of his toys. So, he goes and unplugs my clock. I just got up and ran all the way from my house to school. I missed my first class, and on top of that all, I have to deal with detention. My mom is going to throw a fury fit."

"I'm sure she'll understand." he told her in comfort. He still wanted to bring up the subject of the carving knife, but this wasn't the best of times to do that.

"That woman never listens to a single thing I say." Kagome told him, balling her hand into a fist. "She never believes anything I tell her and things that my brother is a little saint and that I'm always being harsh on him when he starts shit."

"I see. What about…" he began to say, but the bell rang for lunch and Kagome had bolted on him before he had the chance to finish. He got his stuff and went after her, worried that she might do something she shouldn't.

Meanwhile, Kagome had to get away from that horrid Kikyo. She knew that InuYasha would be following her, so instead of going to her secret place, she was making her way to the courtyard. However, she never made it as far as the door. As she fought the crowd in the halls, she didn't see the boy with short black hair standing by his locker. He smirked and turned to his friends, whispering to them. When she was close enough he stepped out in front of her, while his friends stopped her from escaping.

"Well, if it isn't the little freak." he said, giving her a little shove.

"Go away Naraku, nobody wants to smell your nasty breath." she hissed at him, trying to get away from the group of muscular boys.

"Shut up ya skank." he told her, shoving her a little harder this time. "I heard that you were threatening my girl with a knife yesterday. I don't think that was a very wise decision on your part."

"Just leave me the fuck alone." she yelled, now pushing against the boys. InuYasha had finally caught up with her and saw the predicament that she was in. He walked over to the group as fast as he could and dropped his bag to the floor before shoving the tough jock back.

"Back off punk, this ain't your fight." one of Naraku's friends said to him, shoving him back a little.

"Ya? Well it's my fight when you mess with one of my friends." he said. InuYasha balled his fist and swung his arm back, getting ready to punch the arrogant jerk square in the chin when someone grabbed a hold of his arm.

"I think that is quite enough, Mr. Taisho is it?" said one of the gym teachers. "Since this is your first offense, I'm just going to give you an after-school detention, but if it happens again, things will have to get more serious. Are we clear on this?"

"Yeah." he said, grabbing the slip from the teacher and stuffing it in his pocket.

"Same for you boys." the teacher said to the jocks who had been bullying Kagome. "I don't want you starting anything."

With that the teacher walked away and the boys disappeared out into the courtyard. Kagome adjusted her jacket and threw her messy braid over her shoulder. InuYasha grabbed his bag and walked up to her, walking with her to the courtyard.

"Thanks again." she said to him as they found a shady spot underneath one of the trees and sat down for a while.

"And again, that's what friends are for." he told her as they watched all of the people around them. They simply hung out for the rest of the lunch time, mostly talking of menial things, and then it was off to the rest of their classes. When the finally bell rang, Kagome felt her heart sink. Not only would her mother be getting a call about her missing her first period, which she suspected was her brothers plan, but she also had to stay for an hour of detention.

She was going to use her time that day to clean up the house like her mother had demanded, but now knew that wasn't going to happen. Now she was making her way up to the library where detention was usually held. She walked in the doors and set her bag under the first table and flopped in a chair as she waited to be told what to do. InuYasha walked in moments later, sitting beside her.

"Well, looks like my detention-ees are here." spoke an elderly lady who Kagome recognized as the librarian. She was wheeling out a large cart with stacks of books on it and stopped in front of the two. "Take these books and put them in their proper sections. Talking is permitted, but do it quietly, please."

With that, the woman walked off to take care of other matters. Kagome stood and stretched before grabbing a book off the cart and looking at it. From there she drug the cart across the room to a tall bookshelf and placed it between two books. InuYasha watched a moment and got up to follow.

"So, is this the norm for detention?" he asked in a hushed voice, putting his mouth right next to her ear. Kagome jumped at the sound of his voice and ran into him. He grabbed her arms to catch her, but lost his balance and fell over. His foot knocked against the cart of books and made a few fall off before crashing loudly to the floor.

"This is not a love-in, it's detention." said the librarian when she got over to them. InuYasha was on the floor and had one arm behind him to push him up while the other was resting on Kagome's hip. His black wife beater was pulled up and his red boxers could be seen. Kagome was practically in InuYasha's lap, while her hands were on his knees and her hoodie was falling off of her shoulder.

"Sorry." said InuYasha both to the librarian and to the startled girl in his lap. The old woman walked away as he got up and helped Kagome. She adjusted her hoodie and picked up the books they had knocked down.

"That wasn't funny." she said to him.

"Hey, I said I was sorry." he told her, snatching the books from her hands and putting them away. They didn't speak much for the rest of the hour long detention, as whenever they did; the librarian would scowl and hush them.

---_After Detention_---

"So, you never did say why you were late for school this morning." InuYasha mentioned as the two were walking home. Kagome looked up at him, then back towards the ground.

"My ass of a little brother thought it would be funny to unplug my alarm on me." she said unpleasantly. "I hate him so much sometimes."

"I can understand that." he told her. "My brother was the same way."

"You have a brother?" she asked. He simply nodded and they walked quietly for a while.

"So..." InuYasha said, breaking the silence. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm seventeen. I live with my step-mother and half brother. My dad died when I was eight. That was a year after he married my step-mom." Kagome told him. "After he died, she legally adopted me, but has never really treated my like her own child."

"That sucks." InuYasha told her.

"What about you?" she asked him with mild interest.

"What do you want to know?" he replied.

"Anything." she told him.

"Well, I'm eighteen. I live in an apartment on Main Street and I'm raising my nephew." he told her. "My parents died in a car accident when I was young and was raised by my brother for a while. Honestly though, my brother was an ass and I ran away from home. The only time I ever went back was to get my nephew from him."

"Jeez, my brother must be a saint compared to yours then." Kagome said. "Especially if you had to take his own kid away from him."

"I guess." InuYasha said. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to ask her a very difficult question. "Kagome?"

"Hm?" she asked.

"How long have you been cutting yourself?" he replied. When she heard his question, Kagome stopped where she was.

"How…how did you know?" she asked him nervously, moving her hands behind her back and tugged on the sleeves to her hoodie.

"I have my ways." he told her, moving over to her and taking her hand. He let the sleeve fall down her arm to reveal a bunch of scars running up and down it. Kagome had turned her head away and let her arm go limp.

"I'm sorry." she said in a quiet, choked voice. InuYasha let her had go and watched as the sleeve feel to cover her battered arm. He moved closer and gave her a gentle hug as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"No need to apologize, and don't be ashamed either." he said in a comforting tone. "I'm your friend and I'll be here. I just want to know why and how I can help. I care about you."

"I can't tell you why right now, but the fact that you're my friend helps tons." she told him, pulling away. They began walking again, but didn't say anything for the rest of the time. Finally, after Kagome gave him her address, they split ways and she walked the rest of the way on her own. It was a new sort of comfort for her to know that someone cared. It made her not need to hurt herself.

She finally made it home and cut across the grass. Smiling to herself, she found that, for once, she was actually excited about going to school. She skipped up the steps and unlocked the door. The house was empty, which was a surprise to her, as she thought her mother would have been home by then. She let out an odd sigh of relief and dropped her bag by the door. She still had time to get things done.

However, she was wrong. Only moments later her mother pulled into the driveway. Kagome's mind screamed at her to get moving, but she found herself becoming quite afraid. Her mother and brother walked into the house, both carrying a single grocery bag.

"Kagome!" her mother exclaimed when she saw her. "Where the hell have you been, you lazy brat? I come home, the house is empty, and nothing whatsoever has been done. I told you that I expected you to clean up this sty of a house by today, and I can't believe that you're so dumb that you couldn't even do that. And what's all this about missing a class today?"

"It's not my fault. Souta unplugged my alarm on me and I got an after-school detention." Kagome explained as both her mother and brother shoved the bags into her arms.

"She's lying again Momma." Souta said in a snide manner. Mrs. Higurashi turned to him and rubbed his face with her hand.

"Of course she is sweetie." the woman said to him before he ran off to his room to play. "As for you, I wish you would quit telling me lies all of the time. Always blaming your brother for things. And it's practically the same excuse every time. I put Souta to bed myself last night and he was sound asleep in minutes. Now, go get the rest of the groceries out of the car, after that I will be scolding you for your lies."

Kagome said nothing to the woman, and went outside. She stood on the porch a moment, looking first at the van which had the back end open and then down the street. Her instincts told her to run away, anywhere at all, but her mind screamed at her to stay, for if she ran her mother would get her and punish her badly. The girl took a moment and finally decided to stay and pray for an easy scolding.

Kagome carried in all the bags and put away the groceries. After that she went to the living room where her mother waiting for her. The girl approached the couch and cleared her throat. Her mother looked up at her and stood, smoothing out her top and walking over to the girl. In an instant the woman had a hold of Kagome by her braid and had her down on her knees.

"You have misbehaved far too much recently. I'm sorry to have to do this, but it's the only way you learn." her mother told her before smacking her hard across the face. Kagome whimpered and tried to shield herself from the woman. This only made her more upset and she threw the girl into the wall.

Mrs. Higurashi walked into the kitchen as Kagome collected herself and came back with a roll of duct tape. She grabbed Kagome by her arm and pulled her up, binding her arms behind her back. After that she put the teen into the corner of the room and began to slap her hard, digging her nails into her arm whenever she slunk to the ground, and all in all beat her within an inch of her life. Kagome had passed out by the time it was over and was thrown into the closet beneath the stairs like she was nothing more than garbage.


	4. A Surprise Visit

**Chapter Four: A Surprise Visit**

Kagome was woken by the sound of what she thought was a stampede. When she finally figured out where she was, she knew that it had to be Souta running up and down the stairs. Her body ached all over and it hurt to move. All around her was darkness, so she was unable to see a thing.

_How long have I been out of it?_ She pondered to herself as she propped herself up as best she could. Her mother hadn't even bothered to untie her. Kagome leaned against the door and pushed her back up against it as she strained to get to her feet. Once up, she felt along the edge until her hands met the knob. She jiggled the knob in attempts to get it open, but found that her mother had managed to lock it from the outside.

She let out a discontented sigh and fell back down to the floor. She knew that her mother had to be home, because Souta had been stomping around. What she didn't know was when she would finally be set free. She let her entire body weight fall against the door as she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

She was woken again when the door swung open and she fell backwards, hitting her head hard on the wooden floor of the living room. She cracked her eyes open, blinking profusely as her eyes were barraged by blinding light. When they finally adjusted to the light, she could see her mother hovering over her like a hawk.

Her mother grabbed her up and took the duct tape off of her wrists. Kagome felt her muscles relax as she brought her arms forward and rubbed her wrists. She turned around and faced the woman, who seemed to have been waiting impatiently for some time.

"I hope you have learned something from all this young lady." she said sternly. "No go make lunch. After that I want you to do all of the chores you have neglected."

"Yes mother." Kagome said in an obedient tone as she scurried off into the kitchen. She took her time and carefully made a nice lunch for her family. She set out three plates, cups and silverware. She put the food on the plates and poured milk in the glasses before returning to the living room.

"Mother, lunch is ready." she said. The older woman simply stood up and brushed past her daughter. Souta came chasing after, but he shoved her aside in his effort to get to his meal. Kagome slowly made her way into the kitchen and took a spot at the table.

"Excuse me Kagome, but what are you doing?" her mother asked before the girl even had a chance to pick up her fork. "I didn't say that you could eat with us. Get going on those chores, now."

"Yea, nobody wants to look at you while they're eating." Souta commented snidely. Kagome didn't even bother to argue with either of them and got up from her chair. As she left, she could hear Souta taking her plate and dumping the contents onto his own.

She left the room and went about doing laundry and vacuuming. When her family finished eating, she cleaned up the plates and washed the dishes, all the while her stomach growling for something to eat. At one point, she thought she had heard someone at the door, but her mother had shooed her away. However, she pressed on and finished cleaning late in the night. By then she was too exhausted to cook anything and retreated up to her bedroom for the rest of the evening.

Once there, she shut the door behind her and flipped on the light. She walked over to her vanity and saw what a mess she was in. Both of her eyes were blackened and she had a gash on her head that ran close to her hairline. Her entire face was covered with dried blood and her own appearance made her want to hurl.

Silently she slipped into her bathroom and ran herself a warm bath. She took out her braid, stripped down and climbed in the tub. She laid there a moment and felt her pains begin to ease slightly as the warmth sank into her muscles. After that she lathered some soap into a wash cloth and gently wiped away the blood from her face and wiped down the rest of her body. By the time she had finished, the water had turned a dingy brownish color that vaguely resembled throw up.

Kagome dried herself and picked up her clothes, dropping them in the laundry basket by her sink. From there she changed into a dark blue spaghetti strap night gown. Returning to her vanity in order to brush her hair, she saw what had made her body so sore. A large, discolored bruise ran from her left shoulder and went down. She pulled up the night gown and saw that it went along her side and reached out just beneath her ribs. She gently touched it with her fingertips, but winced in pain nonetheless.

Kagome let her gown drop back down and finished brushing her hair out. When she was done, she could barely stand. So, she turned off her light and crawled into her bed, falling asleep in almost the same instant that she laid down.

---_Earlier That Day_---

InuYasha woke up early that Saturday morning full of plans for the day. He went into the bathroom and showered before returning to his room and changing into a pair of baggy black pants and a red work-shirt style button up top. He tied back his long hair in an elastic and went from his room to the room next to his where a young child lay sleeping. By then it was nearly eight in the morning.

InuYasha crept to the small bed and sat down on the edge. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. The child whined slightly and rolled over, putting his back to the older boy. InuYasha shook him once again and he finally gave in and sat up.

"Morning Shippo." InuYasha said as he ruffled the kids sandy red hair and smiled. Shippo took his hand and pushed it away.

"G'morning Uncle Yasha." Shippo said, letting out a huge yawn and showing a gaping hole in the very top front of his mouth where there should have been a couple of teeth. He stretched and then jumped onto InuYasha's back.

The older boy stood up and carried him out into the kitchen, where he plopped him in a chair. From there he got them both a bowl of cereal. They sat and ate, with Shippo being the first done. The little boy ran from the table and plopped down in front of the medium sized television set that sat on the floor in the middle of the living room. InuYasha finished shortly after and cleaned up the table. After that he went into the living room and nudged the boy with his foot. Shippo looked up at him a moment and then turned back to the television.

"Hey squirt, go wash up and get dressed." InuYasha said as he moved over to the couch, grabbed the remote off the table, and shut the television off.

"Awe!" cried Shippo unhappily as he got to his feet and turned to his uncle. He stomped his foot and crossed his arms. "Do I hafta?"

"Yes, you do. We're going to go visit one of my friends today." InuYasha told him as the little boy sulked off down the hall to the bathroom. "I think you'll like her!"

Once he heard the bathwater running and was sure that the child was occupied, he went into his room and retrieved his bag of powder cocaine as well as the other things he would need to use. He returned to the living room and set a small plastic tray with slanted edges onto the table and sifted out a small amount of the powder. After that he took his tube and snorted it up.

He picked up his things when he was done, not wanting to expose his young nephew to drugs, and took them back in his room where he hid them high up on the top shelf of his closet. Once he had done that, he had just enough time to return to the living room and turn on the television before Shippo came streaking out of the bathroom and into his own room in nothing but a towel. The little boy came out about ten minutes later dressed in a pair of jeans and a green Power Rangers shirt.

"I'm ready t'go Uncle Yasha." he said as he walked out of the door, pulling it shut behind him.

"All right." InuYasha said. "Get your shoes on and we'll go."

Shippo nodded and ran over to where his shoes were and began putting them on. While he was doing that, InuYasha got his pants from the day before and dug out the little slip of paper that had Kagome had written her address on. He found it and returned to the living room where Shippo stood by the door, bouncing on his heels with anticipation.

"Let's go!" Shippo called as he turned and jiggled the door knob. InuYasha slipped on his shoes quickly and opened the door as Shippo rushed out and started racing for the stair.

"Shippo! Wait up!" the older boy called. Shippo stopped and waited until InuYasha got to the edge of the stairs and raced down to the mid-platform between stairs cases. Every time InuYasha would get down one, Shippo was already down the one that was below it. And so it continued like this until they were both on the ground floor.

Then they began walking down the street, making turns and crossing when necessary. When they got to the street that Kagome was supposed to live on, InuYasha got out the slip of paper and checked the address on it. They walked along the sidewalk slowly, checking the numbers on the houses until they came to the correct one.

It was a small, two story house that was painted an off white color and had nothing to accent it. In the driveway was a light blue minivan with the trunk left open. The two boys made their way up to the front door after looking at the house and InuYasha casually rang the doorbell. They waited a few moments when an older woman in a deep purple pant suit opened the door and peered out at them.

"What do you want?" she asked in a quick, rude manner. InuYasha and Shippo took a step back before answering the woman.

"I, uh, we came by to see Kagome." InuYasha told the woman, instantly disliking her. She seemed very cold and quite mean. "Is she home?"

"There is nobody by that name here." the woman spat as she began closing the door. "Go away."

With that the door slammed in their faces. Shippo looked up at his uncle with a puzzled and saddened look. InuYasha took his hand and they began walking away. When they were a significant distance from the house, Shippo stopped walking and pouted a little.

"Uncle Yasha. How come that lady said your friend didn't live there?" the little boy asked. There was sadness in his bright green eyes. InuYasha knelt down next to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know, but I think she was lying." he told the boy. He was saddened as well that they couldn't go visit Kagome, but there was nothing that they could do, at least until the older woman left. "How about some ice cream instead? We'll come visit another time."

"Okay!" Shippo said happily as InuYasha got to his feet and wiped the dirt off his knees. The child took his uncle by the hand and the two began walking away.


	5. A Friend To Care

**Chapter Five: A Friend To Care**

It was early the next day, a Sunday, when Kagome felt the warm sheets ripped from her body. Instinctively, she curled up into a ball and reached out for her covers. She shivered a few moments before finally pulling herself from sleep to see what had stolen her envelopment of warmth from her. Standing at the foot of her bed with arms crossed was none other than her mother, who seemed rather displeased, though Kagome could only guess why.

"Hurry up and get dressed." the woman commanded in a bitter tone as she crossed her arms. "I want breakfast on the table in a half an hour."

Kagome sat up, and once recognizing the request, she gave a nod and replied in a submissive manner, "Yes, Mother."

After that the woman left her to do as she was told. Kagome rose from the bed and went to her dresser to get some clothes for the day. She wouldn't be going anywhere in the condition she was, so she chose a simple pair of black pajama bottoms and a large purple work shirt with long sleeves that had once belonged to her father. She changed quickly, not wanting to agitate her mother any more that weekend than she already had.

She headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, starting with breakfast right away and not hesitating a moment. She cooked up scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and a few other breakfast items so that Souta would have no place to complain at what she had made. She separated the food into three portions, putting two onto her mother and Souta's plates and the rest on a third plate that she hid up in one of the cupboards.

Kagome knew that she was still a sight and doubted that her mother would let her eat in the same kitchen. Pouring a tall glass of milk for Souta and a cup of black coffee for her mother, she wondered what tasks she would be forced into that day. She simply sighed and walked into the living room. She found it absent of people and instead went up the stairs to see if they were there.

Sure enough, her mother was in her room. The woman was busy folding a pile of clothes pulled from her closet and placing them inside a large suitcase that sat on the bed next to her. Kagome cleared her throat and gently rapped on the door, getting the attention of the woman. She turned and without having to ask walked past the girl and down the stairs.

Kagome then went to her brother's room and found that he was packing as well. This struck her as a bit odd. At first she thought her mother was going away on a sudden business trip as she often did, but now she thought different. However, she knew that her mother would be telling her where they were going eventually.

"Souta, breakfast is ready." she called from the doorway. The young boy turned and gave her a cruel glare before sprinting past her down the stairs. Kagome shut her eyes and rubbed them before heading down the steps, stopping near the bottom and seating herself on one of the steps.

She waited there for a while until she heard the clattering of dishes and the sounds of footsteps coming towards her. She saw as her family turned the corner, Souta racing up the stairs without giving her a second thought while her mother waited at the bottom, silently staring at the girl with a hint of malice in her faded brown eyes.

"Kagome, we are going away to visit my mother for a week." the woman said, breaking the silence before brushing past the girl on her way up the stairs to finish her packing. Kagome waited a moment and got up to follow the woman. She stood just outside the woman's bedroom door while she zipped up her suitcase and carried it toward the door, noticing her daughter only a moment later.

"Should I go pack?" Kagome asked in a quiet voice.

"No, you stupid girl." laughed Mrs. Higurashi. "You are staying here to take care of the house. Besides, you have no relation to my mother. You are, after all, only my step-daughter."

"All…alright then." Kagome said to the woman, stepping aside as she carried the bag out of the room, only stopping to rush Souta before the two scurried down the stairs. Kagome stood where she was, listening as the front door opened and then closed. She could hear the car engine start before it pulled from the driveway. She scurried across the hall to her bedroom where she watched the blue minivan drive down to the end of the street and turn the corner where it went out of sight.

Kagome could feel an odd sense of relief and a tinge of happiness at knowing that she was all alone for an entire week. A faint smile adorned her face as she made her way down the stairs to her hidden meal. She cleared away the dishes from her family and sat down with the plate. The food was still warm and smelled wonderful, as she hadn't had anything to eat the day before. As she ate, she thought of all the things that she would do without the worry of a punishment.

---_InuYasha's Apartment_---

Shippo yawned widely as he sat up in bed and stretched. He hopped out of the bed and stared at the bright green lights on his digital clock. It was nearly noon and he had already missed his cartoons, which made him feel a little bad. He sighed and changed into his jeans from the day before and a blue Transformers shirt that was laying near it. After that he walked down the hall, through the living room, and into the kitchen.

He shoved one of the worn out chairs near the left of the kitchen up against the dingy counter and climbed up on it and then onto the counter itself. He shuffled his way down to one cupboard and opened it to pull out a box of Fruit Loops. He set the box down on the counter next to him a shut the cupboard before moving down the counter again, carefully maneuvering around the sink and over the top of the stove to the far right side where the bowls were kept.

He got one of those down as well and set it on the counter as he returned to where he set the chair, reaching his foot out to touch the seat. Once he found it he climbed down and pushed the chair back into place, humming lightly to himself as he pulled a spoon out of one of the drawers. He stood on his toes to grab the cereal box and his bowl off the counter before setting the items down on the table.

From there he went to the fridge and tugged hard on the heavy door before it opened. He shoved aside various food items until the nearly empty gallon of milk was reachable. He grabbed it and pulled it out, shoving the door shut and going back to the table where he poured his cereal into a bowl. He grabbed the milk and poured the remaining contents in when he heard footsteps behind him. There stood his uncle, smiling slightly and shaking his head as he joined the little boy in the kitchen.

"Thanks for waiting, squirt." he joked as Shippo began shoveling the cereal into his mouth. InuYasha got himself a bowl and sat down at the table, grabbing the milk carton and going to pour it on his cereal when he noticed it was empty. He gently poked the little boy in a playful manner, making him giggle. "Thanks for saving me some."

"Thorry." he giggled, going back to his own bowl.

InuYasha looked around and realized that he hadn't grabbed himself a spoon and turned to get up. "Now, all I need is a spoon."

"I'll get it!" Shippo said happily, dropping his own spoon in his bowl and running over to the silverware drawer before the older boy had a chance to stand. He ran back and handed the spoon over, grinning widely and once again showing off the gap in his mouth.

"Thanks kiddo." InuYasha said, taking the spoon and digging in. Shippo nodded and hopped back into his own chair, accidentally flipping his spoon and sending several soggy cereal pieces at InuYasha. They hit him square in the face that sent the little boy into a laughing fit.

InuYasha simply sat there, his eyebrow twitching slightly as the red loop that stuck there plopped into his own bowl. All the while Shippo guffawed wildly as InuYasha fought the urge to laugh himself. He wiped the food from his face and watched as the little boy laughed hard enough to fall out of his chair, gripping his aching sides.

At this point InuYasha couldn't help but burst into laughter himself. They hooted like hyenas for a good ten minutes after that before they could laugh no longer. The older boy helped his nephew up off the floor and they cleaned up their mess, no longer wanting to eat.

"Uncle Yasha?" spoke Shippo in a hopeful tone as he skitted into the living room and jumped onto the couch. "Can we go visit your friend again and see if she's there this time?"

"I suppose so. After all, there's no harm in trying." InuYasha told the boy as he reached over and grabbed his shoes up off the floor. Shippo followed in suit and both slipped their shoes on before heading out the door as InuYasha locked it behind them.

"I jus' hope that mean lady ithint there." Shippo said as he raced down the stairs with his uncle following closely behind.

---_Higurashi Residence_---

It was nearly one-thirty in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. Kagome had finished eating up breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen some hours ago and had been relaxing comfortably in front of her television set with a large bowl of pretzel-chip combo sitting in her lap. She sighed in a discontent manner and got up, setting the bowl down on the floor next to her.

She opened the door and looked out, momentarily blinded by the bright daytime. Standing on her porch was InuYasha dressed in a pair of baggy skater jeans and a red and black pinstripe top covered by a black jean jacket. Next to him was a little boy with fiery red hair who stared up at her with large green eyes. She was very surprised to see him there and became very worried at the same time.

"Hey Kagome!" he said in a cheerful voice before smiling at her.

"Hi." she said quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to hang out with you." he said, taken aback by her question. Her voice sounded frightened, though he wondered why he would be making her afraid.

"Oh." she whispered lightly before opening the door more and stepping behind it as her friend and his little companion came inside.

"Kagome, is there something wrong." InuYasha asked as he watched her close the door and then attempt to sink into the shadows.

"Um, no, why do you ask?" she replied nervously, not moving from her spot.

"Because you are acting oddly. Tell me what's up." he told her, walking over to her and leading her out into the light. It was then that he saw the bruise that marred her face, the dark circles around her eyes, and the gash on her head. She saw his draw drop slightly and turned away, embarrassed by how she looked.

"I'm sorry, but I think it's time you left." she said as she used a hand to cover her face.

"Awe, I don't wanna go." spoke a small voice which made Kagome look up and see the little boy gripping InuYasha's pant leg as he stared up at her. His little face warmed her heart and made her feel much better as he smiled at her.

"Well, I guess you can stay for a little while longer." she said, smiling back at the little boy.

"Yay!" he exclaimed, bouncing on his toes a little bit.

"C'mon, why don't you watch some TV while I talk to your uncle." Kagome told him as she led him to the couch and switched it to some cartoons. The little boy soon transfixed himself to the screen as Kagome lead InuYasha into the kitchen. The two sat down at the table and Kagome looked away from his gaze again.

"So, will you tell me what happened?" he asked her, reaching over and holding her hand gently as she looked up at him, locking eyes with him and she became lost in the comfort that those golden eyes brought.

"My mother." Kagome began, swallowing hard. "She got mad and she hit me. She hit me a lot."

"You should call the police!" he said, feeling disgusted that someone would treat her that way.

"I can't." Kagome said in a loud, frightened whisper. "Believe me, I've tried. It doesn't work."

"What!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking with how upset he was. "That's it, I can't let you stay here."

"Where am I supposed to go?" she asked, her eyes glazing over with tears as she pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You can come stay with me." he told her.

"I can't. She'll find me." Kagome told him, standing up and going over to lean on the counter. "It will be ok. As long as I don't do anything wrong, she won't touch me."

"I can't leave you here in this kind of situation." he said, getting up and going over to her. He wrapped and arm around her and she laid her head lightly on his shoulder.

"I swear, it won't happen again." she said to him, but he gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. "If, and mind you I said IF, I'll leave. Don't worry."

"I can't not worry about you." he told her, giving her a gentle hug. "I care about you. You're my friend."

This made Kagome smile and she wrapped one of her arms around him and gave him a hug back. It felt so wonderful to have someone care even an inkling about her. "I'm glad that you are."

"Is she going to be back any time soon?" he finally asked, realizing that she probably would be very upset with Kagome for having him over, especially after how she treated him the day before.

"No." Kagome replied, shaking her head lightly. "She and the brat took off for the week.

"Well then." he said with a smile as the two returned to the living room. "I guess I'll have to go out for some dinner and we can have a party, eh?"

"I guess." Kagome said with a laugh. The idea was hilarious when she thought about it. Before, the thought of having anybody over made her blood run cold. Now, however, that fear seemed to just disappear. She had never been able to share her secrets with the two, even though they were pretty close.

From there, things continued on with the same cheerful fervor. InuYasha went out to get a large bucket of fried chicken for dinner, which they ate in the living room while watching one of the funniest movies that Kagome owned. Afterwards, the three gorged on chocolate moose track ice cream until they all fell asleep on the couch.


	6. Runaway

**Chapter Six: Runaway**

InuYasha could hear birds chirping outside and the fuzzy crackle from the television as he slowly opened his eyes. He realized that he must have fallen asleep while hanging out with Kagome the night before and had to still be there. He looked around and found that he was lying on the couch with Kagome snuggled close against him. Her long hair was in her face, but he could see that she was smiling in her sleep. This made him happy as he looked away from her to Shippo.

The little boy lay down at the opposite end of the couch. His mouth gaped open. One of his arms lay over his eyes while the other sat on his belly. One leg was draped over the arm of the couch while the other hung off the side. It was a cute sight and InuYasha couldn't help but chuckle.

The older boy let out a large yawn and pulled his arm free from Kagome. He pulled down his sleeve and saw that it was nearly eight-thirty in the morning. His eyes went wide and he realized that they were all late for school. Quickly he crawled his way out from underneath the still sleeping girl and then shook her lightly.

"Five more minutes." she mumbled in her sleep before rolling over and covering her head with a pillow.

"If I give you five minutes, that will make us even later." he told her as he pulled the pillow away. She eventually sat up and looked at him, not understanding him at first.

"Holy shit! We're late for class." she said suddenly, placing a hand on her head as her eyes went wide with realization. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"Calm down." he told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can go and make it in time for second hour, but I have to drop Shippo off at daycare beforehand."

"Okay. Okay." she said, calming down a little more. "I'll just go and change and be back in a minute."

"All right." he said as she dashed up the stairs and out of sight. He then turned his attention to the little boy who had been woken by Kagome's outburst. Shippo yawned widely and rubbed his eyes before sleepily looking at his uncle.

"What's going on?" he asked in a tired voice, yawning yet again.

"Me and Kagome have to go to school. I'm gunna drop you off at daycare." he said to the child before pulling on his shoes. A moment later Kagome returned to the living room in a loose pair of black jeans and a dark blue shirt underneath a black track jacket with rainbow strips of fabric lined vertically on it. He noticed that her face now appeared to be completely unmarred and the cut near on her head was hidden by her hair.

"You ready?" she asked, pulling on her own shoes as well. She noticed the puzzled look on his face. "It's really good cover-up."

"Oh." he mouthed silently and he put Shippo's shoes on the boy and picked him up carefully, as he had fallen back asleep. "Let's go."

The two left and dropped Shippo off at a daycare on Main Street before backtracking and making it to school in time for the lunch bell to ring. They didn't bother to go into the school, but instead hung out in the front courtyard. It wasn't until the lunch hour was nearly expired when they came face to face with trouble. They had been walking down the hall to their respective classes. InuYasha had planned on dropping Kagome off before ditching for the hour and hitting his class after that. However, things didn't necessarily turn out that way.

"Hey punk." said a voice as InuYasha and Kagome both got shoved from behind.

"We still have a score to settle with you, and this time the teachers ain't around to stop this." spoke another. Kagome looked up and saw Naraku, Kikyo, and their obnoxious posse gathering around them. She really didn't want to have to put up with that again. However, very few times did things happen the way she wanted them. InuYasha got up to his feet and pulled Kagome up as well before placing himself in front of her. Before they knew it, Naraku and them were diving at the two.

Kagome felt herself getting slammed in her side an instant before smashing hard into one of the lockers. She fell to the ground after that and felt someone kicking her in the ribs as she tried to get to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw InuYasha pinned to a locker across the hall. Though he was fighting with all of his might, he couldn't get free of their grip and had to withstand the beating.

Kagome got up and saw Kikyo with her fist balled. She dived for the girl, but Kagome was to face and Kikyo stumbled and did a face plant. Kagome jumped at her and sat on her back, yanking on the witch's hair and clawing at her face. Kikyo screamed and one of her friends managed to throw Kagome off.

"Bitch, I'm going to kill you." Kagome hissed, diving for her once again, but the bell rang. Naraku, Kikyo, and the rest of them left the two beaten teens to tend to take care of themselves.

Kagome got to her feet again and walked over to where InuYasha sat leaning against a locker. She scurried over to him and helped him to his feet. His lower lip was cut open and bleeding and by the pained grunts he made, she knew his ribs would be bruising soon.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a very concerned tone as they walked to class.

"I'm fine. What about you?" he replied as he wiped the blood off on his sleeve.

"I'm good." she said with a discontent sigh. "I just hate them so much. I don't know why they do this."

"Because they're assholes with no conscience." he spat as they stopped just outside her classroom.

"I'll see you after school, okay?" she said, giving him a light hug around the neck.

"Yea." he said as he tottered off to his own class, waving behind him vaguely.

---_Monday Evening_---

InuYasha and Kagome had picked up Shippo from daycare on their way home, but they couldn't stay. InuYasha had to go in to work that afternoon and though Kagome had offered to watch the adorable child, InuYasha insisted she relax for the rest of the night. She didn't put up a protest and the two left, with Shippo going to stay with one of their elderly neighbors who were more than glad to watch the boy, if only for the companionship.

Now, the teen was returning home, feel utterly exhausted and wanting nothing more that to collapse on his bed. He dug through his pocket to grab his keys, holding onto the doorknob with one hand, but found that the door had already been unlocked. This sent a cold chill down his spine and he slowly opened the door, pushing it open and then backing away in case some attacker lurked inside.

When he heard no noise, he cautiously made his way into the apartment, quickly flipping on the light and illuminating the room in a dull glow. What he saw made the chill he felt only deepen and he became scared. More scared than he would have liked to have been as well. However, he didn't let this stop him as he went about the apartment, searching the rooms, first his own so he could grab the baseball bat he kept just in case something like this were to happen. Unfortunately, it usually did.

There was no one there and he went back to the couch, dropping the bat on the floor and holding his head in his hands as he mentally surveyed what he had found. The cupboards in the kitchen had been invaded and most of the dry foods had been thrown onto the floor. The fridge and freezer were left open, causing the ice in it to melt and make a mushy mess of the food on the floor. The chairs had been thrown into the living room and the table knocked over. The few pans the owned were dented even worse than when they had bought them second hand.

His schoolbag was hanging from the ceiling fan and had slowly been spinning around the room. The books, papers, and other thing he had kept in there had been thrown all over the room. The coffee table had the legs unscrewed and spread across the apartment.

In his room, the blankets had been slashed and thrown off the bed. The mattress was flipped on its side and one of the legs on the bed frame had been bent. The clothes in his closet were pulled off the hangers and his drugs had been stolen as well. His dresser drawers were pulled out and the clothes they had once held were spread across the room. Shippo's room had been no better.

The bathroom had been desecrated as well. The toothpaste had been squeezed onto the mirror, the floor, and whatever else could be reached. The bristles in the toothbrushes had been cut off and the shampoos and conditioners were squirted all over everything as well. It was absolutely disgusting and InuYasha felt like pounding his fist into the wall. That was how upset he was.

Finally, after those few moments, InuYasha got up to get Shippo from the neighbor. He had to let the boy know that they would have to be leaving again. It would crush the small boy, not to mention himself. Shippo had finally managed to make a few friends at the daycare, and then there was Kagome. He couldn't think of leaving her in the mess that she was in. However, he could bear to think of endangering her by bringing her into their mess.

When they got back, Shippo had become upset and nervous, knowing that his father had found them again. However, InuYasha reassured the child and told him that nothing bad would happen to him. They picked up Shippo's room and the boy was tucked into bed, though InuYasha wondered if he would even be able to sleep that night knowing that they were in danger yet again.

The rest of the night, InuYasha picked up the mess his brother had left behind for him to clean, just like he always did. It wasn't until three in the morning or something close to that, that the fatigued teen finally got to go to sleep for as short of a time that he had to do so.

---_Friday: After School_---

Somehow the three had survived the rest of the week with no trouble brought to them and Kagome's bruises had faded away. After getting payback, Kikyo and her boyfriend had left Kagome and InuYasha well enough alone. The two had been spending a lot of time together, with Shippo as well. The three spent a lot of time at Kagome's house watching her collection of movies or hanging out in the local park, where Shippo would chase the seagulls and scream at the top of his lungs, which only made the two teens laugh.

InuYasha enjoyed the time he spent with Kagome, even though it was also a good way to be out of the apartment for a long while everyday. However, their visit would have to be shortened as Kagome's family would be returning from their trip any time now. InuYasha wrote down his address in case she'd ever need it, then bid them farewell and began cleaning up the messes they had made over the duration of the week.

She scrubbed floors and vacuumed every room in the house. She washed dishes and did laundry. It was her greatest hope that day that her mother wouldn't find something wrong and would ignore her for a while. She planned on keeping up on her chores. Never again did she want to receive a beating. She could hear the van pulling into the driveway just as she was finishing and scurried to let the water from the sink and straightened up the pillows on the couch.

She flopped down onto the couch and grabbed one of her school books, pretending to be studying as the woman and her brother came parading through the door. Cautiously the girl looked up at the woman and then back at the page, noticing the book was upside down and flipped it over before it could be noticed.

"Well, it looks like you've kept this house in decent shape." the older woman said dispassionately as she walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. Souta didn't even acknowledge the girl, but simply darted up the stairs to his toys and games.

"How was your trip?" Kagome asked meagerly, trying to sound obedient so the woman wouldn't be suspicious.

"It was fine. Now get up off your lazy ass and go wash our clothes." the woman replied sharply, shooing the girl off the couch and turning on the television. Without saying a word, Kagome disappeared out of the door to get their bags from the car. However, when she came back inside a few minutes later, she could see an unhappy look on her mothers face when the older woman glanced at her.

Kagome pretended not to notice and went into the laundry room with the bags and started up a load of laundry. Once it was in the machine, she hopped up on top and sat there to wait for it to finish washing. She sighed and hoped that the two would go away again soon so she would be able to spend more time with InuYasha and Shippo.

She heard the door to the laundry room open and saw her mother walking in, holding a familiar looking black jean jacket. Slowly she climbed down from the washer, remembering that InuYasha had accidentally left it there when they had gotten up late on Monday and he had never gotten it back.

"I found this nice jean jacket under the couch." the woman said, letting it drop to the ground at her feet. "It's not yours, I know that."

"It is." Kagome lied, but wasn't able to look the woman in the face. She bent down to pick it up, but received a good kick in the gut.

"You little lying bitch." spat the woman, grabbing Kagome by the hair. "It smells like men's cologne."

"I let one of my guy friends wear it today." she said, lying again.

"Lies, lies, lies!" hissed the woman as she shoved Kagome back and threw the jacket at her. "You don't have any friends. I know whose it is though. It's that one boy who came over looking for you the other day. Him and that red-headed brat. So, start telling me the truth by answering this: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FUCKING HIM?"

"I'm not having sex with him! He IS my friend!" she blurted out suddenly.

"So he was here. I can't believe the kind of things you would sink to, and in MY house no less." growled the older woman. Kagome became quite afraid and found herself backed against the wall, staring up into the angry face of her mother. The woman slapped her hard across the face. Instead of beating her, she simply turned and walked away, leaving the girl to cower there for a moment.

When she finally gathered the courage to leave the laundry room, she found her mother sitting at the kitchen table. The woman was sipping a cup of coffee and going through the mail from the week. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kagome watching her in fear and smirked to herself before saying, "Go up to your room and stay there, and don't think you're getting off so easy."

Kagome jumped when she realized she'd been seen and made a mad dash for her bedroom. Once there, she shut the door behind her and flopped onto her bed, curling up with one of her pillows. A few minutes later, as she lay there wondering what kind of tortures she would soon be receiving, she heard footsteps outside her door. She felt her whole body stiffen in fear, but found that no one entered. She heard a gentle rapping against the door and something clicked before the footsteps retreated back down the hallway.

Shocked, Kagome got up from her bed and went over to the door. She carefully turned the knob and tried to open the door, but found that her mother had attached a lock to the outside of her door so she could not escape. It was a heavy key lock and only allowed her enough spaced to slip an arm through, but nothing more.

With a sigh, she knew she was trapped and shut the door again. Silently she walked over to her window and stared out; wishing more than anything that she could reach InuYasha somehow and he would come to save her. Then a tremendous and skillful idea popped into her head. _She thinks that I'm so scared of her still. She'd never expect that I'd try to escape. All I have to do is wait until she and Souta are asleep and then I'll go out the window._

A devilish smirk spread across her face as she ran to her bed and crawled underneath, shoving out two large duffel bags before emerging herself. She set them on her bed and opened them up before going to her dresser. She took out drawer after drawer of clothes before she had them all inside the first duffel. It was completely filled by the time she was done, so she took it and set it below her window.

She took the second duffel and dropped it to the floor after that. She yanked off her comforter and shoved it in the bag along with her pillows, then went and gathered up all of her make-up, jewelry, and other little items in a smaller bag and wedged it in between the two pillows. She zipped that one up as well and set it next to the first before waiting for her family to go to sleep.

---_Friday: 11:03 PM_---

Kagome placed an ear against her door and listened as the door across from hers closed with a small squeak. Her mother had finally gone to bed and she could get away from the retched woman and her horrid little brother. She got up and carefully snuck to her window, sliding it open carefully. She grabbed her bags and let them drop onto the grassy lawn below. Just as she was about to jump out herself, she realized that her school books, as well as InuYasha's address, were downstairs.

She slapped herself on the forehead and slid back in before going over to the door. She opened it and saw that everything outside her room was dark. She examined the lock and realized it was the one normally kept on the side door of the garage. She had to pick said lock more than once when she had forgotten her house key or when Souta thought it would be a nice idea to lock her out.

She ran over to her vanity and grabbed a few useless bobby pins she'd left sitting there and went back to the door. Carefully, she stuck her arms out and after a few arduous minutes of fumbling with the lock, it slowly clicked open and she was able to pull it off and fully open her door. She hung the lock from her belt loop and crept out of her bedroom. She made it all the way into the living room with ease, managing to get her school bag and the address without much trouble.

She made her way back up the stairs so she could put the lock back on the door before escaping, but soon found herself coming face to face with her mother, who held a loaded shotgun in her hands. Kagome froze, not sure what do. She couldn't run, not with her mother holding that gun.

"Where the hell do you think that you're going?" her mother said. The woman's hair hung in a mess around her face and she was in her bathrobe and slippers, but Kagome had never been more afraid of her than she was at that moment. Then Kagome remembered the lock and grabbed it off of her belt and chucked it at her mother, hitting her on the head and leaving the woman dazed long enough for Kagome to make it into her own room.

She slammed the door shut and ran for the window, jumping out and grabbing onto a branch of the nearby tree. As she was shimmying down, her mother made it into her room and to her window. She saw the girl swinging from the branches and fired a shot just above her head. Kagome screamed and let go, dropping the few short feet to the ground.

She snatched up her bags and ran as fast as she could down the street, turning the corner and looking for somewhere to hide. A short way away there was a house with a large wooden fence. She started running again, making it to the house and opening the gate before closing it quickly. The fence wasn't tall enough to hide her completely, but to her luck, there were several hedges planted along the fence.

Kagome threw her bags in before going in after them. Her chest heaved from exhaustion at having to carry all of her bags and having to run at the same time. She sat there a few moments, unsure of what to do when she heard someone approaching. There was a knothole in the fence and she was able to glance out to see her mother standing there and looking around. She still held the shot gun and Kagome's breath caught in her throat until the woman continued on down the street and around the other corner.

Kagome sighed in relief before she got up and retrieved her bags from the hedges. All of a sudden, a jolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by earthshaking thunder that brought torrents of rain down on the girl. She simply groaned and left the yard, making her way back the way she had come. She was finally away from her mother, and she began to wonder what that would be like.


	7. Unfounded Reasoning Of The Roomies

I don't normally do authors notes, but now the time seems right. I have a couple of things I'd like to announce to you:

**1.** Classes for me have started today (Monday August 29th). So, I don't have as much time as I used to to work on this story. So, try to resist begging for more, I'm working as fast as I can. High school is such a drag, but I'm fortunate enough to be a senior this year, so there is very little homework to hinder my thought process and cut into my writing time. Also, and this hasn't happened yet, NO FLAMES. I don't appreciate them and they will dealt with as well as the flamer being blocked from posting anymore reviews.Yes, I can do this, though I still haven't figured out if I can delete improper reviews or not.

There will probably be some rather violent indiscretions on the part of certain supporting characters and themes that may make people uncomfortable. If this is so, you have my apologies. This is actually a rewrite of a story from my animespiral days that is no longer up due to lack of funding for the aforementioned site. So, you are fortunate enough to get the improved version. Everything presented is there to help support the main plot (If there is any, I'm bad at plots) I'm hoping to make this story at least 30+ chapters. It was originally 28, but I plan to add more to it.

**2.** I know that LOTS of you read this story. I do check my Stats page. There are 1146 hits for this story so far and only 25 actual reviews. That's only 2 of all readers (Seriously, I did the math!) So, please, if you like it, review and let me know. It doesn't have to be a whole analytical evaluation of the story. Just give me a "Hello, great story!" type of response. This will be greatly appreciated, and may get you chapters faster. I'm always more inspired when I know that people actually appreciate the effort I put into this story.

Yours Simply,

InuFanKenhandora (Who will sign any further authors note, if any, as my more commonly known alias, Meg-chan)

♥_Writing is singing for those who can't seem to find their voice---Megan Hodder_♥

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Unfounded Reasons Of The Tragic Teenaged Roomies**

Kagome shivered uncontrollably as she made her way down the sidewalk that was slick with rain and hail. Halfway to Main Street, the temperature dropped dramatically and she began to get pelted by painful hail. Even now the occasionally hail streak beat against her face and the path was so slippery she had fallen several times. It was dark as well, with few streetlights to guide her in the early hours of the morning.

She looked at the slip of paper carefully, it soaked as well and the ink running, which made the writing barely legible. She put the paper back in her pocket and stared at a building in front of her and sighed with relief. It was his, and she knew she could finally get out of the downpour as well as get the heavy burden of her things off of her back. She would be able to sleep as well.

She let out a deep sigh and pushed open the doors before making her way up the three flights of stairs. When she made it to his floor, she had to stop and sit down. With all the weight she carried and the fact that she had been up since six o'clock that morning caused her to feel completely exhausted. Her shoulders and legs ached from the climb and she was sore from all the times she had fallen before getting inside. She was also freezing down to the bone and the hallways inside the building weren't as well heated as she had hoped.

Somehow, she managed to get up off the floor and slink her way down the hall to InuYasha's apartment. She dropped her bags next to the door and rubbed her weary eyes before rapping on the door in front of her. She waited a few minutes and heard no noise from within, so she knocked again with a little more effort. She waited again, but heard nothing still.

However, she could feel herself wobbling on her feet and the shiver caused by her wet clothes and the chilly hall only made her feel worse. So, she sat down and leaned against her things, slowly drifting into sleep. She figured that if no one answered now, she would wait until morning and try again. Soon, she didn't have the effort to even open her eyes again when she heard the lock click on the door.

"Kags?" InuYasha asked in a half asleep voice and wearing nothing more than a pair of red and black striped boxers. He was leaning out of his doorway now after being woken up by her knocking and saw her soaked and half asleep herself with a bunch of bags with her. "What the hell are you doing here at this ungodly hour of the night?"

"I thought I'd take you up on your offer." she said, trying to create a joke to offset the odd situation. The truth was, she wished he would let her in soon so that she could change into something dry before she got sick.

"C, c'mon in." he said, opening the door further and stumbling back out of her way. She nodded and picked up her things, which felt ten times heavier than when she had set them down. However, she managed to drag them into the dark apartment and drop them next to his beat up couch.

"Look at you. You must be freezing." he said as he flipped on a light and saw that she was soaked from head to toe. "How long were you out in the rain?"

"A couple of hours. I got turned around in the dark and had to back track before I finally found this place." she told him as she rubbed her shoulders.

"The bathrooms at the end of the hall." he told her, pointing down a darkened short corridor. "You can dry off and change into some warmer clothes in there."

She nodded and got a pair of pajamas out of her bag before heading to where he directed. She dried off and changed before returning to the living room where InuYasha was busy clearing junk off of the couch. He looked up and saw that she had tied her hair into a low ponytail and wore a pair of dark green pajama bottoms and a loose black t-shirt.

"I don't have an extra bed, so I'll sleep out on the couch and you can take mine." he told her and he finished moving his clutter.

"No, I don't want to put you out. I'll take the couch." she said with a weak smile before letting out a huge yawn.

"All right, doesn't matter to me. Just as long as I can go back to sleep." he said, yawning himself before slinking down the hall and into one of the rooms. Kagome smiled again and pulled out her pillows and her blanket and tossed them on the couch before shutting off the light. Then she too went to bed, curling up beneath her blanket and feeling snug and warm before she fell deep asleep.

---_The Next Morning_---

Kagome found herself being pulled from a pleasant sleep when she felt something heavy climb up on her and sit on her stomach. She groaned and tried to roll over, but couldn't with the weight on her stomach. Instead, she yanked one of the pillows out from under her head and covered her face, hoping that it would make the nuisance go away. However, it didn't and she felt the thing shake her lightly in attempts to wake her.

"Souta…sleep…go." she mumbled after picking up the pillow off of her head before dropping it down on her face again.

"I'm not Souta." said a voice that wasn't her brothers. "I'm Shippo, silly."

That was when she realized that she was no longer at home. This made her toss the pillow to the floor and open her eyes, which were blinded by the morning light. Sitting on her was a cheery-faced red-headed little boy who smiled at her happily before hopping off so she could sit up. When she did, the little boy hopped into her lap and looked up at her.

"Sorry about that squirt." Kagome said as she ruffled his hair. "I thought you were my rotten brother."

"S'okay." he said to her. "Can you make me a bowl of cereal? Yasha is still asleep an' I'm kinda hungry. He says I'm not allowed to play in the kitchen 'lone anymore."

"Sure. Lead the way." she said as she stood up and stretched out. Shippo smiled brightly and nodded before bounding off of the couch. She followed him into the kitchen and watched as he sat down in one of the chairs. She looked at the cupboards a moment before realizing that she had absolutely no idea where anything was. During all this, Shippo had been watching her with interest. It must have been very unusual to him to have her there.

"The bowls are in the cupboard on the far lef' and the cereal is in the far right one." he told her after she just stood there. "Spoons are in the drawer by the sink."

"Thanks." she said as she prepared the cereal for him. When she went to the fridge to get out the milk, her nose was barraged by the smell of old food. She grabbed the milk jug and opened it, sniffing it gingerly to make sure it wasn't rotten. It was fine, so she poured the small remaining amount on his cereal and set it in front of him.

"Thank you Kagome!" he said brightly, digging into the food. She stood there watching him with amusement before looking around the kitchen. The entire apartment was more or less a sty, but that could be expected of two guys. She mentally laughed at the thought and went to her bags of things, pulling out clean clothing for the day.

"I'm going to go change. Don't get into any trouble." she joked, looking back at Shippo who was contently eating his breakfast.

"Okies!" he said, his mouth full of food. She laughed lightly and walked towards the bathroom. Of course, as she did, she could hear loud, deep-throated snores coming from InuYasha's room which only made her laugh more. She wondered if she should try and wake him or just let him get up on his own.

She thought on that as she changed into a pair of black boot-cut jeans and a black spaghetti strap tank top with a long-sleeved dark pink mesh top to go over it. After that she retied her hair in a low ponytail like she had the night before and wrapped a black bandana spotted with pink. All in all it gave her a country girl look, but it would suit her for what she had planned. Her decision was that she would let InuYasha sleep. She didn't know whether he was a grump in the morning or not and didn't want to find out the hard way. So, she passed him by and went to check on Shippo.

He had finished eating and had now glued himself within inches of the television screen for some Saturday morning cartoons. She saw that the little boy had just left his bowl sitting on the table and shook her head before picking it up and setting it in the sink with the towering pile of other dirty dishes.

Once done with that, she went to the couch and folded up her blanket, setting her pillows on top of that and leaving them at the end of the couch. Sighing, she flopped down next to them and attempted to glance around the child. However, her efforts were in vain. So, she decided to get a head start on her plans for the day.

Since she would probably be staying with the two for a while, she thought it might be a nice idea to pick up the messy apartment. After all, she doubted InuYasha would let her get a job and help pay rent. She returned to the kitchen and began setting the dirty dishes on the counter, cringing at the less than pleasant odor wafting off of them. Once they were out, she rinsed the muck from the sink and plugged the drain before running hot water. She added soap to it and let the bubbles build up before beginning to scrub away at the mass of moldy dishware.

As she went about her self-appointed task, a half awake young man came stumbling out of his bedroom, still in nothing more than his boxers. She glanced back and watched as he plopped lazily on the couch and attempted to see around Shippo like she had done. He, too, failed miserably at that endeavor and drug himself into the kitchen.

He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she was in the same room, let alone the same apartment as him. He slowly opened the fridge and stared into it for nearly five minutes before he grabbed out a nearly empty jug of apple juice and opened it. He began drinking out of it when Kagome got a rotten idea in her head.

She wound up the towel that she had on her shoulder and whipped him in the rear end, saying to him. "You know, it's healthier to use a glass. And low and behold, you actually have some clean ones."

He jumped and briefly choked on the juice as he swiveled on his heels to face her. "Jeez! Give a man some warning."

"That was your warning." she said with a smirk. "Besides, you were the one stumbling around the face like a zombie."

"Whatever. Just don't do that again, please." he requested, putting the juice back in the fridge-without the top.

"Spoil sport." she teased before returning to the dishes, which had begun to turn the water a dingy brown that made her grimace. InuYasha had already disappeared to get dressed for work and noticed this when he came back out.

"Kags, you don't have to do that." he said, trying to pull her hands from the water. "You're a guest."

"Ah, that may be." she told him, pulling loose from his grip. "But if I don't do them, they may never get clean. Besides, I wanted to help out."

"Hey, I was planning on picking up." he said, looking around the ungodly chaotic apartment. "Eventually."

"Right." she said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Well, whatever. I got to get to work, I'll be back in a little bit." he told her, tying his long hair back in a ponytail.

"Ok." she said, pulling out a short list of food she'd written out while he was changing. "Hey, on your way back, pick up these groceries. You have almost no food left in this place."

"We do too." he told her.

"Yes, but the food here isn't edible, unless brown and green cheese is a favorite of yours." she responded, opening the fridge and holding up the package for him. He cringed in disgust and nodded in defeat, taking the list from her and stuffing it in his pocket.

"Later." he told them before disappearing out of the door.

---_Later That Day_---

InuYasha came home with a plethora of bags in hand, which he promptly dropped onto the coffee table in the living room. He looked around finding that he Kagome and Shippo were nowhere in sight. He walked down the hall and heard noises coming from the boy's room. When he got there, he was amazed by what he saw.

The entire room was spotless, except for the few toys left on the floor that Kagome was just now picking up. It really surprised him, he had never seen the apartment that clean, not even when they first moved in. Kagome noticed him as she turned to go out the door and smiled cheerfully.

"So, did you get the groceries?" she asked him, passing him as she went out the door and spotted them on the table in the living room.

"Yea." he replied, looking around and noticing that he hadn't seen Shippo yet. "Where's the kid?"

"In the tub." she told him as she grabbed the bags and went to the kitchen, setting the bags on the counter and turning back to him. "Do you ever tell him to bathe? That is the dirtiest child I've ever met."

"He does, occasionally." InuYasha replied, walking into the kitchen and cringing slightly as a smell of citrus bored into his nose. "Ech, what stinks like lemons?"

"That, my dear friend, is what clean smells like." she answered, shooing him from the kitchen after that and going about putting the groceries away. She was on the last bag, and was surprised by what she found filling half of the bag. "Do you think you got enough ramen?"

"You can never have enough ramen." he told her with a smile, turning his attention back to his show while she simply shook her head and went back to what she was doing. Shippo joined his uncle on the couch, now fully clean from head to toe. Soon after, they had a nice dinner that Kagome made for them. Shippo fell asleep and InuYasha tucked him in bed while Kagome cleaned up the dinner mess.

Finally, it was getting late, and Kagome was bushed from all the cleaning that she had done that day. She had scrubbed the kitchen, managing to clean away grime that had probably been there for years. She picked up all of the boys' junk and put it in its proper places. She had vacuumed all of the floors and had to empty the bag twice before they came clean. She had even scrubbed the walls and windows. However, there was one room that she hadn't cleaned: InuYasha's.

When she went to clean that room, she was greeted by a god awful stench that had made her gag and shut the door. No way was she going to even try to clear that room out. She'd see to it that InuYasha did it himself. Powerful were the persuasion techniques of a woman. The thought made her smile as she changed into her pajamas from the night before and trudged to the couch for some well needed rest. However, that would soon be dashed, as InuYasha sat comfortable lounging on the couch watching some quality late night television.

"You, time to vacate. I want sleep." she said, walking over to him and nudging him. He looked over and pushed her away lightly. She yawned and flopped down next to him, nudging him again. "Shoo."

"I wanna see the end of my show. Go sleep in my room." he told her, rolling his head toward the direction of his door. Kagome cringed at the thought of sleeping in that stink pit and looked away. No way was that going to happen.

"Nuh uh." she responded, pushing him a little less lightly. "I already said I won't put you out, and it stinks like something died in there."

When he still didn't move, she snatched the remote away and flipped the television set off. His jaw dropped slightly and he grabbed on of her pillows from the pile, smacking her playfully on the head with it. She gasped and grabbed her other one, hitting him back with it. Soon, the two were in the middle of the living room in fighting stances.

"You and me." she said, smirking as she swung the pillow in her hand. "Loser has to go sleep in the stink pit."

"You're on." he said, swinging the pillow at her. Before he new what was happening, she had dropped the pillow and had tackled him. She sat on his chest and began tickling him profusely as he desperately tried to push her off of him. They rolled around, grabbing hair and limbs. At one point, Kagome had gotten a hold of his ankle and bitten him, making the boy jump.

Soon, InuYasha found himself sitting on her, holding her hands above her head and keeping her from struggling. He smiled down at her and felt himself getting drawn to her. Before either knew it, they were locked in a small, tender kiss. Of course, once InuYasha realized what he was doing, jumped up off of the girl and turned a bright shade of pink.

"Fine, fine." he said in a meek voice, feeling quite embarrassed by the encounter. "I'm going."

Before she knew it, InuYasha was gone and she just lay there on the floor a few moments as she collected her thoughts on what had just happened. She, too, had turned a darker shade and found her quite surprised by InuYasha's display of emotion. However, she wasn't offended or anything of the like, she enjoyed it. It was the first time in ages she had felt her heart swell with an unknown flutter.

Eventually she got up off of the floor and collected her pillows, dropping them down on the couch and shutting off the light. She laid down on the couch and covered up before drifting into a light sleep. Yet, she never truly fell asleep. It was more as if she had waited until her companions had both gone to sleep before she found herself drawn to get up out of her own bed.

She made her way into the kitchen, a strange and almost addictive tingling rising up her spine as she approached the silverware drawer. She carefully slid it open, shrinking back when it squeaked before it was fully open. From there, she squinted in the dark and found the object of her choosing. It was one of the nicer kitchen knives InuYasha owned. Stainless steal and hardly used from what she could tell, so the blade would be nice and sharp still.

Carefully she rolled up her sleeve to reveal her marred arm and cut into the tender flesh. Honestly, she had no idea why she was doing it. It was almost as if, even though she had nothing to drive her to it, it was a part of her and she needed it like an addict needed their drugs. That was what she was, and addict of cutting. Even if she wasn't hurting, she couldn't stop so easily. In the recesses of her mind, she questioned it all, but she was so engrossed in her task that she didn't care.

Finally, she finished and dropped the knife into the sink, running the water over it to hide her tracks before running her own arm beneath the faucet. After that, she went to her bag and grabbed a skin colored gauze bandage and wrapped it around her wounds. From there, she laid down to sleep once again, now finally free to dote on her reasons why.

_Could it have been the kiss? No, I doubt that. Am I just depraved and stupid, or is there something more to it? I wish I wasn't burdened with this hindrance. InuYasha tries so hard to help me, yet I do the very thing he is trying to stop. I can't help but think that I'm beyond help. I care about him, he's my friend. I just hope that I don't become an inconvenience to him. I couldn't stand it if I did. What were we both thinking when we locked lips? Was he disgusted? Did he think I was? Even thought it was so awkward and new. I liked it, I really liked it._

---_Earlier_---

InuYasha shut the door behind him and sighed deeply before slinking over to his bed and sitting. He held his head in his hands and shut his eyes in defeat. _What was I thinking? I KISSED HER! She must think I'm some kind of depraved freak. NO! She's my friend, she wouldn't think that. She was just so beautiful lying there. She looked so happy for once. I had made that happen! I couldn't help but want to. Those warm brown eyes, her soft and graceful features. She's just so, so IDEAL. I've never met another girl like her before. I just hope I haven't fucked anything up too badly._

He raised his head again and walked over to his closet, lifting up a loose piece of carpeting in the corner before prying open a floorboard. This opened into a space large enough for a narrow wooden box, which he carefully removed from the hiding place. Opening it, he felt a sense of calm fall over him. Inside was a small amount of his holy substance, cocaine.

He prepared everything for its use, and soon snorted it up, feeling that instant feeling of numbness and forgetfulness. He put the box back in its safe spot. Shippo had gotten smarter and began questioning things as well as getting into things that might harm him. So InuYasha kept his sin well hidden from the innocent boy, not wanting to corrupt him. Casually he slipped into a blank state of being and turned off the bedroom light that had started to make his eyes burn. He went and laid down on his bed, staring at the dingy ceiling as a few randomly coherent thoughts splashed in his mind.

_I don't know why I do this. I wonder if this is how Kagome feels with her own problem. Maybe it was fate that we met. To help each other. I'm not sure. After all, she doesn't know about my own senseless problems. What if she does find out eventually? Will she run away from me as well? She has enough of her own problems, why should she have to try and deal with mine as well? I just wish we were both through this. I wish running away could actually solve those problems. Just drop everything that we have now and go somewhere where our pasts are just that, the past. Although, starting anew can never last. Somehow, something always comes along to screw it up._


	8. A Few Stolen Moments

**Chapter Eight: A Few Stolen Moments**

InuYasha felt himself waking up and feeling like he was trapped in thick fog. He collected himself and realized what had woken him. The old rotary phone in his room was ringing incessantly and giving the tired teen even more of a headache than he already had. He rolled over, and in a sloppy manner grasped at the phone until he managed to knock it off of the hook. After that he brought it up to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked in a groggy voice, not really intent on talking with anyone at the moment.

"Good morning, little brother." spoke a cold, calm voice that sent a familiar chill up his spine. Once hearing that voice, tainted with a ridiculing tone, InuYasha sat straight up in his bed before jumping out and looking out the window into the dark night. Seeing nothing but the dimly lit street below and the fading stars in the sky above, he stared briefly at the clock, seeing that it was barely past three in the morning.

"Sesshoumaru." the teen spat as the image of his older brother appeared in his mind. He had silver hair, just like himself and their father before them. However, he always kept his short and cut neatly, a façade of a business man to hide the monster behind the mask. His eyes were golden as well, but were duller than his, and empty like a black hole. He also has a sneer that meant nothing but pain for the teen, but was hidden by a calm stoical face.

"You seem surprised. I thought my familiar calling card would have had you running like a dog with a tail between its legs." the man on the other end said, still completely placid, revealing no tell tales signs for his sibling to pick up. "Perhaps it was because of that lovely young friend of yours that you have staying with you. I'm sure that intimate moment between you two last night left you more than just a flushed face. Or maybe it was the fact that you were so racked up on crack that you completely forgot what it is that I want from you."

"Fuck you. Damned bastard." the boy cursed into the receiver as he clenched his fist angrily, wishing he could strike his brother at that moment.

"You know I don't swing that way, ass. Of course, I'd certainly enjoy a taste of that girl." Sesshoumaru mocked, causing InuYasha to growl angrily.

"You won't touch her, and you won't see Shippo ever again." InuYasha told him bitterly as he felt his blood heating up beneath within his veins.

"Oh, I will. Soon enough." replied his brother, still calm. "You think you can actually get away, you never can."

"Burn in Hell you bastard." InuYasha cursed yet again.

"Shippo is MY god-damned son! Nothing you can do can stop me from getting him." Sesshoumaru retorted, his anger flaring up, which was never good. "I ALWAYS get what I want, and I want my fucking son! I have connections! If I wanted, I could get your ass put in jail faster than a blink of the eye!"

"So why haven't you?" InuYasha asked, one-upping his arrogant brother. He heard the man gasp in discontent.

"Because I have better ways to make your life hell." his brother responded, returning to his cool calm self. "We've nothing further to discuss, I suggest you run. Run like the pitiful mutt that you are."

With that, InuYasha could hear the other line go dead. He had the receiver in a death grip by the end and slammed it down on the base, sitting down on his bed again and savagely attacking the mattress. He punched until he was panting from the effort. Finally, he lay back down again, terrified for the safety of his nephew and of his only friend. He knew he'd have to tell them, but he didn't know how. Shippo hated having to move constantly, always being on the run from his deviant father and his entourage of goons who would take a bullet for him if the price was right. He sighed and closed his eyes, not wanting to think about any of it any more. Soon, he was back asleep, but it wasn't a pleasant one. His dreams were only nightmares of the things he knew of his villainous sibling. It absolutely disgusted him.

---_12:56 PM_---

Kagome had been up at the same time as Shippo again, which was surprisingly early for a weekend when she had stopped to think of it. She fixed him breakfast, which was something a little more nutritious than Super Frosty Sugar Rounds, like he had desperately wanted. However, she convinced him that he'd like what she had made better. Fortunately, she was right, and he pigged out on the breakfast before jumping in front of his beloved television for a few hours.

While he had done that, she washed up and changed into some comfortable house clothes, which were nothing more than a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a dark blue hoodie. She had left her hair down and had then joined Shippo in his cartoon watching. When it finally was getting late in the morning, she knocked on InuYasha's door a few times, getting no answer. She let it be, but now it was time to try again. After all, she was dead set on getting him to clean the pigpen he called a bedroom. Thus, would her cleaning spree be complete.

She knocked on his door and waited. When she heard no movement from within, she knocked louder. However, she still got no reaction out of the lazy boy. So, she held her nose and slowly opened the door, half expecting to find a monster made of dirty clothes about to attack her upon entry. All she found though, was her friend who was snoring profusely, which made her giggle lightly.

She walked over to his bed and poked him with one of her fingers. This only caused him to roll over. She prodded him again, and he rolled onto his back. This gave her an idea. She smirked slightly as she climbed up on the bed, and lowered herself down until she was just above his stomach before falling down on him. He let out a gasp of air and shot up, causing her to go rolling off the edge of the bed.

He hopped up and ran around to where she was, not knowing that it was her. However, all he found was Kagome sprawled on the floor, laughing and snorting loudly like there was no tomorrow. She held her side and then started coughing as the stink attacked her nasal passages.

"Oh God! It smells SO bad in here!" she screamed between laughs as she got up and ran out of the room, breathing the clean air in deeply. "Air! Air!"

"Serves you right." he told her.

"You were the one who wouldn't wake up." she told him, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Feh, whatever." he replied as he stretched out and blinked from the bright light of the hallway. "What time is it?"

"Nearly one-thirty." she told him as they walked out into the living room. "There's leftover eggs and sausage in the fridge if you want it."

"M'kay." he said, leaning against one of the walls before raising an arm and smelling himself, which made him cringe. "First, I think I'll take a nice hot shower."

"All right." she told him as he disappeared back down the hall. While he did that, she made her way back into his room with a can of air freshener in hand. From what she could tell, he'd never clean his room if she'd have asked. So, she thought it best to take on the task herself.

As she entered the room, she sprayed profusely before flipping on the overhead fan and making her way to the window across the room. She opened it and sprayed some more as the stench was masked for the time being. She set to work, picking up all of the clothes first. When she had cleared the main area of the room, leaving a large pile of smelly garments in the center, she went to the closet. There she found most of his clothes stuck in one of the corners.

As she picked them up, she snagged a loose corner of carpet. She placed the clothes in a pile and then went back to the closet to see what she had found. The carpet still stuck up a bit and she pulled it back. All she could see was floorboard until she accidentally lost her balance and pushed a little on the end of one of the boards. It cam up out of place and Kagome felt herself becoming more and more curious about this boys secrets.

She pulled the board out of placed and set it aside as she looked within. There she saw a wooden box wedged within and carefully pried it out of place. She set the box down and got up before walking to the door and sticking her head out. She heard the shower still running and went back to the box to quickly examine what was inside, knowing he'd have to be done soon.

She knew that it wasn't polite to snoop, especially after he had been so hospitable towards her, but she knew next to nothing about him and doubted that he would be able to open up enough to tell her himself. She opened the box and set the lid on top of the board and looked inside. She was a bit taken aback by what she had found within.

It was a small bag of white powder, a small clear tube, and a rectangular mirror with raised edges. She knew exactly what it was and was surprised. She never expected that InuYasha would have problems like that. He always seemed level-headed and strong. She couldn't imagine that he'd ever need drugs. However, she didn't have time to think on it more, as the shower stopped running and she had to scramble to put everything back in its place.

She got it hidden away again and went to his bed, pulling off the sheets and pretended as if she hadn't found what she had. She dropped the sheets into the large pile of dirty clothes as InuYasha walked into the room, unaware that she was in there, and was wearing nothing more than a towel around his waist.

"EH!" she exclaimed when she saw him nearly naked, her eyes caught on his sexy, chiseled torso. She could feel her cheeks heating up and new that she was blushing deep red. "I go, uh, living room."

With that she dropped the sheets in the pile and fled from the room, thoroughly embarrassed. She ended up sitting in the living room on the couch with Shippo, watching television for a while until InuYasha came out wearing a pair of tan cargo shorts and a white muscle shirt. His long hair hung loose down his back.

"Sorry about that." he said to Kagome as he sat on the other side of Shippo. "What the hell are you doing in there anyway?"

"Cleaning." she told him. "If you notice, it doesn't smell nearly as bad as it did."

"I guess." he said, sighing deeply and staring blankly at the television set.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, noticing that he seemed a little bothered.

"I'm fine, I didn't sleep well is all." he answered, running his fingers through his hair. He sighed again and slumped against the couch before staring back at the television.

Kagome wanted to talk to him about his own problem. After all, he was trying to help her, it was the least she could do to help him. Besides, he was the only friend she had and she cared about him very much. She didn't want anything bad to happen to him or to Shippo. Then, an idea came to mind. She would take him out someplace alone and try and talk to him about it. As far as she could tell, Shippo didn't know, and InuYasha seemed uncomfortable about being at home.

"So, I was thinking." she said, getting his attention again. "We've been cooped up here in this stuffy apartment all weekend. We should go out for coffee or something."

"I guess." he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "When and where do you suggest we go?"

"I know this great place a few blocks from here." she told him. "It's always the best later on in the night. I figure you and me can hang out and the squirt can chill at the neighbors."

"Awe, do I hafta?" the boy asked sadly, looking up at the two older kids.

"They don't let in kids your age." she told the child, hugging him lightly.

"Well," InuYasha began. "I suppose we can, but first, can you deal with the mess you left in my room?"

"HA! Mess that I left?" she laughed. "That's all your doing. I just put it in one convenient spot. You deal with it."

"Keh." he said unhappily, crossing his arms. "Will you at least help me haul it down to the laundry room?"

"Fine. I've got a couple of things that need to be washed anyway." she answered. So, the two set to work cleaning up the rest of InuYasha's room.

---_The Apartment: 8:47 PM_---

Kagome stood in front of the bathroom mirror with a curling iron in hand. She finished curling the last lock of her straight hair, and then grabbed a large pink claw clip and put the curls up on her head, giving it the look that she had it all in a ponytail, but without the hassled. From there, she grabbed her bag of hair junk and shuffled through it until she found her hot pink colored hair gel. She randomly streaked it through her hair and then went to do her makeup: smoky looking eyes and plain glossy lips. It wasn't anything really too done over, after all, they were only going out for coffee. Still, she wanted to look good.

When she finally finished she stood back and checked herself out. She had chosen a pair of long black cargo pants with a hot pink t-shirt that had long black sleeves that were like fingerless gloves at the end. On the front of her shirt was a black star. She smiled in approval of herself and shut off the bathroom light before heading into the living room to put her shoes on.

Once there, she found InuYasha sprawled out on the couch, wearing the same clothes he'd worn all day. She cringed and knew they must be starting to smell by now. After all, she had him haul all of his dirty clothes down to the laundromat that was four blocks away and he had to walk the entire way there and back. She walked over to him and sat down on the arm of the couch and nudged him.

"Don't tell me you plan on wearing that?" she said, pretending to sound disgusted.

"What's wrong with what I have on?" he asked in response. Personally, he thought there was nothing wrong with what he had on aside from the faint stench of sweat.

"Those clothes reek." she told him as he shrugged it off. She sighed and then decided to take matters into her own hands. "Fine, I'll pick something out for you."

"Keh. Whatever." he said before stretching out and putting a foot up on top of the coffee table. She raised an eyebrow at him, sighed, and then turned back down the hall and into his room. She shuffled through the baskets of clothing that had yet to be put away and picked out something decent for him to wear.

"Here." she said as she threw the clothes in his lap. "Go put 'em on."

He picked up the clothes in one had and looked at them before getting up and going into his room to change. As he did that, she sat down on the couch and grabbed her bag, shuffling through it for a pair of shoes to wear. She picked out her favorite pink open-toed heels and slipped them on. A few moments later, InuYasha emerged from his room, adjusting his clothes and looking over at her as if he was seeking her approval.

He wore a pair of black cargo pants with a plain green t-shirt underneath a black dress shirt with short sleeves. Kagome walked over to him and circled him a few times, straightening out a few things before grabbing a hairbrush and attacking his head with it, ending with her tying the long mass into a braid.

"Hm?" she said quizzically, examining him again. "Looks good, except I have one more thing that will perfect it."

She went back to her bag and shuffled through it again, retrieving a pair of rectangular black rimmed glasses with green tinted lenses. She put them on him and smiled pleasantly, nodding in liking. "There, now it's perfect. Let's drop the squirt off at the neighbors and hit the streets."

"All right." he said, walking over to the television set and shutting it off.

"Awe, are you sure I can't go with you Uncle Yasha?" the little boy asked as he took his uncle's hand and made his way to the door.

"Yea, I'm sure, but we'll go somewhere later on, okay?" the older boy responded as the group locked up and headed down the hall. The two teens dropped Shippo off safely and made their way onto the street, ready for a relaxing night on the town.

---_Café De Musique: 9: 14 PM_---

"Come on, it's just up here!" Kagome said, grabbing InuYasha's hand and pulling him towards the door of a large building that resembled a nightclub. There were multicolored neon lights lining the overhang of the building. The sidewalk outside was lined with intricate brickwork and lined with beautiful blooming plants. In bright lights the name flashed for all to see: Café De Musique.

"I thought you said this place was close by?" InuYasha said breathless as he stopped just outside the door. Kagome stopped and looked back at him, placing her hands on her hips and letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been here in a while. So quit being a baby." she told him. "Now come on, this place has the best cappuccinos in town."

"Are you sure we're even old enough to get in?" he asked her as they walked through the front doors. Inside was an expansive lounge area with overstuffed red couches and wooden coffee tables that were stacked with art books. Along the far left wall was a long bar with a black counter top lit by various colored lights and round beige swivel stools with a modern-esqué backrest on them. To the far right corner was a rather large dance floor made of thick clear glass with multihued lights beneath it that alternated as well as overhead lights that swirled around dancers moving to a techno beat.

"Yea! This is a coffee lounge. They don't serve any alcohol, but you do have to be at least fourteen to get in." she informed him as she lead him towards the bar. "That's why we couldn't bring Shippo."

"KAGOME!" called a voice from the bar. Kagome looked up and waved at a girl behind the counter, taking a seat nearby. The girl walked over to them and leaned against the counter, a wide smile on her face.

"Hey Kat, what's the scene?" Kagome asked her, scanning the coffee list behind the girl.

"Not much." Kat replied, glancing over at InuYasha as smiling before turning back to Kagome. "It's been forever, where have you been hiding?"

"Lots of places." Kagome replied vaguely. "Can we get a couple of double dark chocolate and mocha caps?"

"Yea, it'll be right up." Kat told her, writing down the order and passing it to the guy at the cappuccino machine. "So, who's the eye candy?"

"This is my friend InuYasha." Kagome said, noticing that InuYasha had blushed and turned his head away.

"Cute. So where'd your mom disappear to? I doubt she'd let you out of the house, let alone go out with a guy." Kat asked inquisitively, glancing over at InuYasha every so often.

"She's at home or so I assume. I kinda ran away." Kagome told her as the girl's eyes went wide and her smile broadened. "I'm temporarily living with him and his nephew right now."

"I knew you'd have the guts to do it eventually. Way to go." Kat told her as she passed them their cappuccinos and winked in InuYasha's direction. "Well, I gotta jet. I'm sure the other customers would like some attention as well. Have fun you two."

"Thanks Kat." Kagome said, passing the girl a few dollar bills she pulled from her pocket before reaching for her drink. It was a frothy beverage in brightly colored mugs and as she downed the first sip, she felt herself go all warm inside. It was a comforting feeling.

"That was, eh, slightly embarrassing." InuYasha remarked, watching as Kagome's friend walked away. His face was slowly changing to bright red to normal and Kagome smiled at the fact that he had blushed that way.

"For you." Kagome said, nudging him lightly. "Now hurry up and drink your cap so we can hit the dance floor."

"Keh." InuYasha scoffed, taking a drink of his own cappuccino. "I don't dance."

"Oh really?" Kagome asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him. A smirk spread across her face as she set her drink down on the counter and snatched his from him, setting it down as well. "Come on."

With that she grabbed him by the hand and tugged him over to the dance floor where a plethora of dancers had now gathered. They were moving around wildly to an upbeat techno song that blared from the large speakers near the DJ booth. Kagome began to move around like the others while InuYasha stood still, aside from being bumped around by the others on the dance floor.

"DANCE!" Kagome yelled at him over the music. He could only watch as she smiled brightly and twirled beneath a bright disco-type light that lit up her face in many hues of brilliant color. She was happy and that made him happy as well. So, he gave in and began to move around to the music with her, having a great time as the thoughts of his predicament temporarily slipped to the back of his mind. Right now, it was only Kagome.

They danced through several songs, finally returning to their spot at the bar, their legs like Jelly as they walked and both were out of breath. Kagome grabbed her drink and sipped it. It was barely warm anymore, but she didn't care. InuYasha was enjoying himself and the dark aura that had seemed to envelop him that entire day seemed to have lifted. Still, she knew she would have to press him on the matter, and it might make him fall back into that same rut.

"InuYasha?" she asked him staring into her cup before looking over at him and flipping her hair over her shoulder. He looked over and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Is there something up with you?"

"Nope." he replied, turning away from her and pretending to concentrate on drinking his cappuccino.

"Are you sure?" she asked, prodding at him for answers. "Because it seems like there is. I know it's probably none of my business, but I'd like to know."

InuYasha glanced her way and sighed. He knew that he'd have to tell her eventually and this was as good a time as any to let her know. "Well, you see, it's my brother."

"Your brother?" Kagome asked, finding this answer to be completely different from what she had expected him to tell her. However, she took interest in what he was saying, for he had a look of despair across his face and she could sense that he was feeling troubled even more than before.

"Yea." InuYasha replied. "He found us, that is, Shippo and I, again. I knew it some time ago, but there was you and I couldn't, well, here's the thing. When I was little, my brother enjoyed womanizing. One time, after I had run away, I found out he raped a fourteen year-old girl. He let her go, but she ended up getting pregnant. He was determined to hide his indiscretions, so he kidnapped her and held her captive until she had her baby, who was Shippo. After he was born, he killed the girl and hid her body where she could never be found."

"That's horrible!" Kagome said, disgusted by what she had just heard.

"That's not all of it." InuYasha told her before continuing with his story. "He also runs a black market adoption agency and kidnaps children to sell off to the highest bidder. With Shippo, he got what he had said was 'A free deal.' I found out about this when Shippo was about a year old and I took him and gave him his name because my brother hadn't even bothered to do it himself. Well, when Shippo got away, he lost a big amount of money because he was selling him to a rich oil driller. He's been after us ever since and now we have to leave."

"When?" Kagome asked, shocked and disturbed by everything she had been told. She felt such anger towards his brother that she nearly broke her mug when she set it down on the counter again.

"As soon as possible. I wanted to let you know." InuYasha told her, sighing deeply. "I just don't want to have to leave you like this."

"So take me with you!" she said, thinking about what an adventure it would be to get out of her town and somewhere where everything could be done anew.

"I can't put you into that kind of danger. He already is trying to kill me in one way or another, I can't let you risk that." he argued. Kagome shook her head lightly and placed a hand on his arm.

"I realize that, but I've always been safe with you." she told him sincerely. "If not for you, I'd have nowhere else to go. You are my only friend and I want to go wherever you go from now on. Danger or not, I'm going to go."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" InuYasha asked, still feeling a tad skeptical on whether or not she should.

"Yes, it is. I have nothing here in this town if you're gone." she answered. "Even if I stayed, I'd end up leaving anyhow. So, why not leave with you?"

"Okay, you can come with us. We can get things ready tomorrow and then head out early the next morning." he told her. Kagome squealed lightly and hugged him around the neck.

"Let's dance some more." she told him, grabbing him yet again and leading him back to the dance floor. Just as they got there, a slow dance song came on and people started pairing up. The two, who had gotten caught somewhere in the middle of the former mosh, now stood awkwardly. Silently, InuYasha extended a hand to her and they began dancing.

Soon, they became disembodied from the world and it was like dancing in a dark void. The only thing around them was darkness and the gentle tune of the music. Kagome felt herself move closer to him and breathed in his spicy cologne before she placed her head on his chest. They moved lightly to the music, not caring what else was happening in the world while they were in each others arms.

Kagome felt that unfamiliar happiness welling inside her chest, just like when he had kissed her for the first time. She began to wonder, was she falling in love with him? Before she knew it, they had stopped moving, though the music still played, and she moved her face closer and closer to his. Their lips met and they kissed long and sweetly, until the song finally faded away and they came back into reality once more.

---_Main Street: 12:38 AM_---

InuYasha and Kagome made their way down the street, following the lamplight. Neither talked, but both were smiling as the walked hand in hand. The world around them was no more than a blurry daze, the only important thing being the person next to them. Kagome sighed contentedly and gently brushed against InuYasha who, in turn, rubbed her hand before leaning over and kissing her briefly.

When they finally got back to the apartment building, InuYasha had Kagome get Shippo while he checked out the apartment. He knew that his brother was watching them, and had to make sure everything was safe before he would let Shippo and Kagome go inside. Everything checked out okay, with no signs that anything was out of place. So, Kagome returned with Shippo.

She carried the little boy, who was sound asleep when she had gone to get him, over her shoulder and into his own room. She laid him down on his bed and tucked him in, staying there a few minutes to watch the angelic child. She was glad that he hadn't had to grow up around his father and that someone like InuYasha had been there for him. She thought about what he might have had to deal with and her own pained life brought tears to her eyes. _As long as I'm here, I'll protect him. I love him and I won't let him suffer like I had. That is my vow to him._ With that, she brushed his hair from his eyes and then got up. She walked to the door, glancing back a moment, before she shut it quietly and made her way to the living room, pulling her hair down in the process.

As she passed InuYasha's doorway, an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her into the dark room. She let out a surprised gasp that was muffled as a set of lips brushed against her own. The warmth of them sent a warm tingled down her spine that made her move closer and deepen the kiss. As she did, his arms enveloped her and held her gently, making her feel more secure than she had ever felt before.

Slowly they made their way over to the bed. They laid next to each other; Kagome snuggled against his side, her head in his neck while his arms continued to hold her. She breathed in deeply, smelling his spicy cologne that still mingled with his clothes. He sighed, and leaned over to kiss her on her head. She smiled, and then propped herself up on one arm, staring at him through the darkness.

"Do you think we'll have more moments like this?" she asked in a delicate whisper, looking into his bright eyes and wondering if this would be the last time they could be close. After all, with Sesshoumaru still after him and Shippo, things probably wouldn't be as calm as they were then.

"I believe so, and I'd do anything to have more moments like this one here." he replied in a hushed voice, bringing a hand to her cheek and caressing it softly. She smiled at him softly and leaned down to leave a chaste kiss upon his lips.

"Good, because when I'm with you, I feel a happiness I could never find anywhere else." she told him. He smiled back at her and grabbed her hand, pulling her down over him and kissing her with a gentle fervor that left her lips tingling afterwards.

Silently, she repositioned herself so she was gently straddling him and began rubbing his chest. She removed his shirts and rubbed his bare muscled chest, leaving butterfly kisses lightly on his skin. Soon, she too had removed her shirt and the two were busy kissing the other as the fire within them slowly roared to life. However, this stolen moment was cut short as InuYasha rubbed her arms, feeling the fresh cuts that had scabbed over.

He moved her aside and sat up, holding her arm and looking at the cuts etched in her skin. His voice became unusually reprimanding as he said, "Kagome, what the hell?"

"Why don't you tell me?" she said as she quickly pulled her hand back and hung her head in shame before she grabbed her shirt from where she'd let it lay. With that she rushed from the bed and out the door before he had the chance to say another word.

He sat there in shock, surprised by the last few moments. _Has she found out my own dark secret? God, I said that to her so harshly! I'm so stupid. I have to go make sure she's okay. Curse my damned stupidity!_

"Kagome?" InuYasha called as he made his way into the living room. She sat on the couch, clutching her shirt and shaking uncontrollably. She looked up when she had heard her name, but quickly hid her face away when she saw it was him. He walked over to her and sat down, gathering her up in his arms and holding her closely.

"I'm sorry." she said in a choked whisper, looking up at him long enough for him to see the tears in her eyes. "I don't know why, it's just so hard to quit."

"I shouldn't have said that so insensitively." he told her, kissing her forehead and lifting her chin so he could wipe the tears from her eyes. "You, you know, don't you? About my own problem, that is."

"Yes, I do. I found out earlier today." she said to him, finally hugging him gently.

"You aren't ashamed of me?" he asked, surprised by the gentle tone in which she'd spoken.

"No. Just like me, you have a difficulty in your life. I think that, together, we can overcome them both." she told him. "I can understand why as well. With all the stress you must put up with, being constantly on the run, there'd have had to be some way you could be able to forget about it all, even for a little while."

"Yea." he said, smiling briefly and so very thankful that he had her in his life. "Come on, let's go to bed. Do you want to stay with me tonight?"

"No, not tonight. I'm sorry." she said, pulling away from him finally and sliding away a little. "I don't think it would be a good idea, not with Shippo and all."

"All right then, I'll see you in the morning." he told her, leaning over and kissing her gently on the cheek before returning to his room. He felt a little hurt, but didn't want to push her into anything.

Kagome watched as his disappeared into his bedroom and shut the door gently behind him. She sighed and got up, getting out her pajamas and putting them on. Then, she laid down on the couch and closed her eyes, reflecting on everything from the day. _Today has been wonderful, and we've broken through some big barriers. Now, all that's left is to come to terms with it all. Today may have ended in a funk, but tomorrow is a bright, new day._


	9. Escaping Into The Night

**Chapter Nine: Escaping Into The Night**

"Kagome." a voice called out gently. The girl stirred in her sleep as the voice called out her name once more. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw who it was that had been calling her. InuYasha sat on the coffee table next to her with a smile on his face and a fresh cup of hot coffee for her. She sat up and smiled at him before wrapping an arm around his neck and hugging him.

"Morning." she said to him drowsily, stretching out her arms before pushing her comforter down the other end of the couch. He moved from the table to the spot on the couch next to her before handing her the hot beverage, which she took thankfully and sipped as she blinked away the last remnants of sleep. It was after she had woken up that she realized what time it was. Outside she could see the streetlights slowly dimming and the sun barely reaching the edge of the horizon.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" she asked, yawning halfway through her sentence. "And what time is it anyway?"

"I'd guess it's about a quarter to five, but we got to get busy early, that way we can get out of here quicker." he told her, gulping down the last of his own coffee. Then, he patted her knee and stood up, taking his cup into the kitchen. "There's a lot of stuff to pack and I still need to let Shippo know.

_No wonder I'm so exhausted! I've only had about four hours of sleep!_ She said, gulping down the rest of her own coffee and joining him in the kitchen. She rinsed out her cup and set it in the sink before slinking an arm around his waist. She hadn't forgotten about the previous night. No, it was still fresh and wonderful in her mind. Aside from their small hiccup at the end of it all, it had been unbelievably superb.

InuYasha smiled to himself and hugged her close, leaning down to leave a light kiss on her forehead. Kagome snuggled closer to him, relishing in the moment before the two had to break apart and get ready for the strenuous day of work that lie ahead of them both. InuYasha made his way from the kitchen and into his room to get dressed, while Kagome went to the bathroom to do the same.

She chose a simple outfit, a pair of black lounge pants with a neon green waist and a black muscle shirt she had snatched from InuYasha's pile of clothes that they had washed the day before. She figured that he probably wouldn't miss it anyway. For her hair, she simply tied it back in a ponytail and was ready and raring to go, for the most part anyway.

InuYasha had gone simple as well, choosing a pair of camouflage-patterned knee-length shorts and a tight fitting white t-shirt that showed off his sexy upper body. Kagome nearly blushed when she had seen him, however, now wasn't the time for such things. They had to get everything ready to leave, and soon. Kagome didn't know what InuYasha's brother might do to them if he actually caught them, and she knew she'd rather not find out.

"Do you want me to wake the squirt up?" she asked him, standing up and getting ready to go.

"No. I'll wake him and then let him know everything he needs to know." he answered her. "Could you start wrapping the glass stuff in newspaper? I already went out and got a stack of old ones. They're on the kitchen table. I'll pull out boxes later."

"No problem." she agreed, turning around and making her way to the kitchen instead as InuYasha sighed and got up off the couch. He made his way down to the little boy's bedroom and quietly opened the door before walking over to the bed and flipping on the small lamp next to his bed. The child whimpered slightly and rolled over, mumbling something incoherent.

"Shippo?" InuYasha called to the boy, who mumbled again and rolled back over before groaning at the annoying light in his face. The older boy shook him a little and Shippo finally sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Uncle Yasha?" he said, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the room and he could see his uncle's face clearly before he yawned and stretched out.

"Hey kiddo." InuYasha responded, giving the child a hug.

"Why am I up so early?" Shippo asked, glancing at the small dinosaur clock by his bed.

"I have something to tell you." InuYasha said, putting on a serious face. Shippo noticed and stiffened slightly. "Your dad knows where we are and we're going to have to leave. I need you to come help pack things away."

"He found us?" Shippo said in a small scared voice, his eyes wide with fear.

"Yes, but he's not going to get you. I promise." InuYasha told him in reassurance. He knew the child was deftly afraid of his father, and for good reason.

"What about Kagome?" Shippo asked.

"She's coming with us." InuYasha responded, picking the little boy up in his arms.

"Good." Shippo said. InuYasha set the boy down and let him get dressed before they went out to help Kagome with the packing and whatever else needed to be done.

---_Noon-ish_---

"GAH!" Kagome exclaimed, flopping down on the beat up couch and sprawling out. "You've got a **lot** of junk."

"Heh, I know." InuYasha said in an exasperated voice as he carefully set a heavy cardboard box marked "Pots & Pans" next to a large grouping of boxes in the middle of the living room. With all that was there, Kagome would have expected the floor to collapse from the weight.

"A question." she said, lifting her hand slightly to get his attention. "You have no car, so how do you expect to move all of this stuff?"

"Au contraire." he told her. "How little you know. Come on. Shippo! Shake a tail feather!"

Shippo came dashing from his room, where he'd been putting his toys in their own boxes, although it was more likely that he'd been playing rather than packing. Kagome pushed herself up off the couch and stretched. Her lack of sleep was beginning to wear on her and she knew that as soon as she got the chance, she'd sleep like a rock.

"Here." InuYasha told her as he handed her one of the many boxes, grabbing one himself and heading for the door. She and Shippo followed after as he led them down the stairs in the back of the apartment complex that led to an underused, underground parking garage. In a dark corner in the far back, there was a single vehicle that was covered with a dingy yellow-green tarp.

"What's that?" she asked as they approached.

"Wait and see." InuYasha replied, adjusting the box in his arms so it balanced in one. He grabbed one corner of the tarp and began to pull. "Shippo, grab the other side."

The boy did as he was told and both pulled back on the tarp until it fell off and revealed an old green station wagon with fake wood paneled sides that was beneath. It struck Kagome as odd that they'd cover up a car that probably wasn't worth the effort, but then again, they had their reasons for everything. InuYasha went around to the side and pulled open the drivers door, setting the box down on the ground next to him and felt around the bench seat.

Kagome watched in interest as he managed to lift up the seat cushion to reveal a nearly invisible compartment within. It was filled with maps, a couple of travel books, and a police scanner, as well as other miscellaneous odds and ends. He reached in and pulled out a small box that held a single key within. He took the key out and put everything else back in before putting the seat back in place. With that he slid the key in the ignition and turned it, letting the engine roar to life. He pulled the car up a ways and stopped, shutting it off again and pocketing the key.

"This is how we're getting to wherever the hell we're gunna go." he told her with a smile before making his way to the back and popping open the trunk. He took her box and set it in, and then took the one he brought and placed it inside as well. "Now, let's get the rest and then get some chow, huh?"

---_Later That Night_---

Kagome yawned and made her way into InuYasha's room, having finished changing into her pajamas, and found the boy was tucking his nephew into bed next to him. She smiled at the sweet scene and made her way over to them, sitting down on the bed and leaning in to kiss the child on the head.

"Goodnight small fry." she said to him. The boy let out a yawn as well and shut his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. She then crawled across the bed and slid beneath the covers next to him. InuYasha did the same, getting in on the other side, but leaving a wooden bat leaning against the nightstand just in case they needed it.

Earlier on, over dinner, they decided to head out early the next day. Neither InuYasha nor Kagome had enough energy to drive anywhere that night after the little sleep they had gotten and all the effort they had put into packing. So, they decided to stay one more night in the apartment. They knew that they were probably being watched at all times, so InuYasha's brother probably knew they were getting ready to run. In order to keep both Shippo and Kagome safe, he proposed that they all stay in the same room that night, which both agreed to. Now, they were settling in and the older boy was silently hoping that their escape would go off without a hitch.

Soon they were sound asleep. Shippo had managed to snuggle up against Kagome and was busily snoring. However, he soon was awoken by the need to go to the bathroom and slipped quietly out of the bed as not to wake them, making his way down the hallway to the bathroom. Kagome, startled by the loss of warmth, wearily opened her eyes to see where Shippo had gone. She started to panic when she saw he was not in the bed and got up, grabbing the bat just in case, and walked out into the hall.

She looked up and down the hall, seeing that the light to the bathroom was on and then heard the toilet flush. She calmed down a little and loosened her grip on the bat before slipping back into the bedroom, more than ready to go back to sleep. However, just as she set the bat down, she heard something in the living room break. She quickly snatched the bat back up and went to the door, hiding in the shadows and a dark figure crept past, glancing in the room at InuYasha, who still slept soundly.

_Good, they didn't see me. I wonder who **they** are? Well, whoever it is is in for a shit-load of trouble when I'm done with them._ Carefully she snuck out of the bedroom and made her way up behind the figure before swinging the bat at them and smashing them on the back of the head. The person let out a cry of pain and turned to face her. Her blow had only been strong enough to make them angry, but it was also enough to make a scream that not only alerted Shippo to the danger, but InuYasha as well.

Shippo had opened the door to the bathroom just enough to see what was going on, but shut it again quickly. The intruder leapt at Kagome and struggled to get her weapon from her. InuYasha had bounded out of his room and attempted to tackle the person who had since gotten the bat from Kagome and thrown it out of her reach. While InuYasha had them occupied, she managed to escape their grasp and burst into the bathroom where Shippo sat cowering in the bathtub.

She grabbed him and held him tight in her arms, running past the fight but was tripped by the man. Shippo tumbled out of her grasp and the person now identified as one of Sesshoumaru's goons fought his way away from InuYasha and grabbed the boy before racing out the door. Kagome got up and chased after, InuYasha hot on her heels. Still it was not enough to catch the man again. He had gotten into a dark car and sped away.

"DAMMIT!" cursed InuYasha loudly, watching as the car disappeared out of sight. Kagome went up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, a desolate look on her face.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him, biting her bottom lip in frustration.

"We're going after them, come on." he said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the parking garage. They got into the old station wagon and drove out of there, heading down the same road.

"How will you find them, you don't know where they are going?" she inquired, staring out into the murky night.

"What's the most expensive hotel around here?" he asked, not answering her question. She gave him a puzzled look and he gave her a stern glare as he waited for an answer.

"There's only one motel around here. Go up three blocks, turn right for five, and then another right and you'll be there." she told him. He nodded and sped up, following her directions until he was at a good distance from the motel and parked the car. He rummaged in his seat and grabbed something out Kagome wasn't quick enough to see. He got out and Kagome began to follow, but he motioned for her to stop.

"You stay here." he said firmly, before turning to leave.

"What? No, I'm going with you!" she protested, following after him.

"It's too dangerous." he told her, turning back and placing his hands on her shoulder before looking her right in the eye. She couldn't stand it and turned away, tugging on her sleeve. He sighed and then left again. She didn't object.

Instead, she waited until he was far enough ahead for her to follow safely. She knew it would be dangerous. From all she knew of his brother, she knew that she couldn't let him go alone. That and she did care for Shippo very much. No way could she let anything happen to either of them. She watched as InuYasha went into the office of the motel, for what she wasn't sure, and then watched him come out again, walking around to one of the rooms. She followed after, sticking to the shadows and carefully keeping her eye on him.

InuYasha approached the door the man at the front desk had told him was being rented to his brother. It was then that he heard a twig snap somewhere in the shadows and turned towards the noise, a small pistol now aimed into the darkness. "Come out."

"Don't shoot. It's me." came Kagomes voice in a loud whisper as she slunk out of the night and up next to him. He sighed and let the hand with the gun fall down to his side.

"I told you to wait by the car." he said in a reprimanding voice, careful to remain quiet and as to not alert the resident of the motel room the stood directly in front of.

"I refuse to let you do this on your own." she told him, squeezing his hand and then letting it go.

"Fine, but from now on, do as I say. You could get killed if you're not careful." he told her. Finally, he returned back to what he was about to do before Kagome had showed up. He knocked on the door and then ducked around the side of the building, pulling Kagome with them. They heard the muffled bark of orders as two men came out of the doorway, both holding handguns. They looked around and then stepped into the night in search of the person who had knocked.

It was then that Kagome picked up a rock and tossed it across the parking lot, which alerted the men to the noise. They left their post at the door to follow the noise. For assurance, Kagome tossed yet another rock into another direction and the two split ways. This gave InuYasha the opportunity to kick in the motel door, making the remaining man inside jump.

Kagome waited just outside the door, waiting for her chance to make an appearance that was sure to throw off the person inside. InuYasha, however, now had his pistol aimed directly at his brother's head. The man, who appeared to be an older version of InuYasha but with short cropped hair, scoffed and stood, his hands resting on the shoulders of Shippo, who quavered a bit, obviously under the influence of some calming drug, a method his bastard brother often employed.

"Ah, brother." spoke Sesshoumaru calmly before patting the young child on the head. "I see you're here to try and take my son from me. I have to say that I can not allow that to happen."

"Fuck you." spat InuYasha, placing his finger on the trigger.

"I see you still have that bad temper. However, I think that we can fix that." spoke Sesshoumaru, shoving Shippo aside, who idly fell onto the bed. He had managed to conceal a weapon behind the boy, which was now pointed at InuYasha.

Kagome couldn't see what was happening, but she could feel a horrible numbness spread through her that made her believe that something bad was about to happen. No longer able to stand waiting idly by as the two brothers stood at a standstill, both waiting for the other to attempt to kill the other, she dived into the room, wrangling Sesshoumaru by the ankles and causing him to fall, discharging his weapon into the ceiling before it tumbled out of his grasp.

InuYasha managed to grab the weapon and point both directly at the man. He smirked, almost wanting to take the opportunity to kill the bastard, but he was not that low, and instead gave Kagome instructions. "Get Shippo out of here."

"Gotcha." she said, picking Shippo up and dashing from the room and into the dimly lit parking lot.

Back in the room, Sesshoumaru pounced at InuYasha, who had managed to jump out of the way, but not before firing a shot into his brother's arms. The older man cried in pain as InuYasha fled the room, following after Kagome, who had managed to make it back to the car and hidden herself and Shippo from Sesshoumaru's goons who were still in search of an enemy. They had heard the shots though, and had headed back to the room just as several police cars, probably alerted by the person at the front desk who had more than likely heard the shots as well.

However, this was of little concern to the three in the car. They had managed to get away unnoticed by anyone and were now headed to somewhere unknown. Kagome had set Shippo onto the backseat and covered him with a blanket. The drugs he'd been given him were making him sleep, which was okay for now. Then she had climbed up into the front seat next to InuYasha and was now leaning against him. He glanced over at her, a solemn expression on his face as he made a turn onto the highway heading northward.


	10. A New Beginning

**Chapter Ten: A New Beginning**

"Are you all right kiddo?" InuYasha asked once they managed to get going on the highway. Kagome sat up and turned around to see the boy slowly beginning to sink down in exhaustion.

"Uh huh." Shippo replied wearily with a little nod of his head before he buried his face against the seat. Kagome sighed lightly before looking over at the driver. InuYasha glanced over at her and gave a feeble smile, then turned his attention back to the road ahead. Kagome sighed and looked down at Shippo, who had just fallen asleep again.

Without a word, she carefully climbed into the back and rummaged through the mass of boxes until she found her bag, which she pulled up close to her. She unzipped the main compartment and shuffled things around until she was able to get her blanket out. She zipped it up and gently rearranged the sleeping child so that he was wrapped snuggly in the blanket.

After that she made her way back up to the front and scooted over towards InuYasha again. He took his hand of the clutch and took hers with it, entwining his fingers with hers. She set her head on his shoulder once again and watched numbly as headlights streaked passed and the lights from small buildings along the road blinded her momentarily. She shut her eyes briefly, but was soon asleep. However, she wasn't out for long.

"Kagome." called InuYasha's voice softly, waking her. Her eyes opened slowly and she could feel the car beginning to slow down as he stopped in at an abandoned rest stop, carefully making sure to avoid the video cameras positioned around the area. She lifted her head looked at the clock, noticing that she'd only been asleep for about twenty minutes.

"What is it?" she asked, concerned that there might be something wrong.

"Nothing, we just need to stop for a minute so I can look at a map and a travel book to find out where to go next. Also, I want to find the closest gas station, I'm so tired I can barely read the road signs." he told her as he parallel parked between a couple of tall shrubs at the edge of the parking lot. It was a shadowed spot and wasn't even visible until he'd gotten quite close.

From there he got out and extended a hand to her as she slid across the seat to join him. He lifted the seat with ease as he'd done before and grabbed out a flashlight at the far end, which he had to smack against his hand a few times before it turned on. He handed the light to Kagome to hold while he searched through his pile of stuff. He found what he needed a few moments later and closed the seat back up. He set everything down on the seat next to him before taking the light back from her.

"Wait here." he told her as he went around to the back of the vehicle and got a hoodies out of one of the boxes, finally turning off the flashlight and putting it in one his pajama pockets. He slipped it on and tied his hair back before pulling the hood up around his face and walking over to one of the vending machines. While he was there, Kagome looked over what he had gotten out. There was one large travel book that listed the best things for different states across the country, a neatly folded map of some state, and a box similar to the one that the car key had been hidden in-only this one was bigger.

"Back." InuYasha said as he pushed the things aside and slid into the seat. He reached into the hoodies pocket and pulled out a couple of bottles of coca-cola, before handing one to her. "Here."

"Thank you." she said quietly, watching him as he opened his bottle and took a large gulp before replacing the cap and setting it in the cup holder. "Where are we going to go?"

He paused a moment and smiled sweetly at her. "I'm not sure yet, but that's what all the stuff on the seat is for."

"Oh." she mouthed silently as he began to spread the map out. She silently observed him, opening her own bottle of pop and taking a refreshing drink. InuYasha had now pulled out the flashlight and, keeping the light down, scanned the map, alternating between it and the travel book. She took another sip of pop, but the caffeine did nothing to keep her awake. So, she closed the bottle tight and set it down next to his, leaning her head against the door and closing her eyes briefly. However, she was quite tired from the earlier predicament, and couldn't keep them open any longer.

---_10:46 AM_---

Kagome rolled over in her sleep and fell over with a thump, which woke her abruptly. InuYasha snickered lightly at her and she gave him a gentle punch in the arm. She could also hear the sounds of a small child trying to suppress his giggles. She stretched out and looked around, seeing that they were still driving, but were on a city street instead of the highway.

"Morning sunshine." InuYasha said with a yawn as he slowed and pulled into the parking lot of a McDonalds. He pulled the car into an empty space in the small lot and shut of the engine before leaning over and hugging her lightly.

"Where are we?" she asked, stretching out and looking around. She had been asleep for quite a while, and assumed they must have gotten pretty far if InuYasha had been driving the entire night. She looked over at him. His lack of sleep was clearly showing in the early morning light.

His eyes were drooping and she could see the faint darkened circles below them. He yawned almost constantly and slumped over the wheel, his head sinking then rising again when he caught himself dozing off. She smiled at how cute it was, but felt bad that he hadn't gotten any sleep that night. She returned his hug and watched as he too stretched out wide.

"Michigan, I think." he replied, looking around as if something outside would tell him if he was correct or not. "I stopped paying attention the road signs four hours ago."

"Ah, I see." she said in response. "Then we are pretty far from home."

"Yep." he said wearily.

"Good." she said, smiling. She realized now that she was far away from her wretched step-mother and annoying half-brother. She'd never have to go back there and put up with them again. She was with someone who actually cared, and that made her world seem so hopeful.

"Well, lets get something to eat and get out of our pajamas." he said, opening the car door and hopping out. Kagome followed in suit, helping Shippo out through the front first. It was a nippy morning and she could faintly see her breath in the air. InuYasha shut his door and went around back, pulling out clothes for himself and Shippo, and then pulling her bag up so it was reachable.

She found herself some clothes and they all tromped across the parking lot and into the comfort of the heated building. Kagome found a table and InuYasha went up and got them breakfast. It wasn't anything fancy, just a few Egg McMuffins, hash browns, and orange juice in soda cups, but it was enough to remind her how hungry she was. They ate quietly, getting a few awkward stares from the other restaurant patrons, but otherwise sat in a secluded booth in the back of the building near the bathrooms.

When they had finished, Kagome took the trash and threw it away. Then, all three made their way into the bathrooms to change before they had to be on their way again. She washed up as best she could, then put on a simple pair of black wide-legged jeans, a long-sleeved black top with a pink fairy on it, and a large plain black hoodies to wear over it. When she was done dressing, she went over to the mirror and realized why they had been such a sight. Her hair was a frizzy mess. So, she pulled it out of the ponytail she'd kept it in the night before and ran her fingers through her long raven locks to smooth it out before she tied it back up.

"So, where to now?" she asked InuYasha as she approached the table where he and Shippo were sitting and waiting for her.

"Not sure." he replied. "This place seems nice enough to me. There might be an apartment or house for rent around here somewhere. I've got enough cash for a first and last months rent of a decent place."

"Well, then we're set for now." she said with a grin.

"Come on. Let's get going." InuYasha said dimly as he stood up and made his way towards the door. Once again they got into the station wagon and drove off down the road.

---_Several Hours Later_---

The group had spent the better part of the day driving up and down the streets and checking the prices for local apartments and rental homes. A lot were overpriced or to unfit for living. They found only one good place.

It was a small one story house with two bedrooms, a small bathroom, a basement and a room made in the attic. The house already had some basic furniture that had been left behind by previous renters. It was a nice place and was cozy. However, the monthly payments were more than InuYasha could manage to make working on his own and he still needed to go to school.

It was decided upon that Kagome would have to find herself a job as well if they were going to stay. So they called up the owner, an elderly woman, from a payphone and she gladly accepted them as renters. They all met at the house, and while she was a little surprised by how young they were, had them sign the contract. So now they had a home and could relax for a little while until they had to stress on the other large tasks at hand.

* * *

** Coca-Cola: I wanted to make a little note about this. I know it doesn't seem very relevant to anything, which it really isn't. However, there is a tidbit of irony here and I want to point out something about Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola had cocaine in it long ago and it is still flavored with an extract from the coca leaf (the plant from which cocaine is extracted). This was when it was still a legal substance and was sold as the "new aspirin" in drug stores. However, when it was realized that it was an addictive substance, the ** **US**** made it illegal. It was then that Coca-Cola started using caffeine in place of cocaine, that way the drink still gave the consumer a buzz, but without causing an addiction. It's ironic in the sense that InuYasha is a cocaine addict and is drinking Coca-Cola here. **


	11. The TwoFaced CoWorker

**Chapter Eleven: The Two-Faced Co-Worker**

It was late in the evening by the time they finished bringing in the boxes from the old apartment and put the contents in their new places. Shippo had been helping out as well, but was still tired from the excursion the night before and had just fallen asleep on the couch. Kagome was carefully covering him with a green fleece blanket. She smiled down at him and then placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. He yawned in his sleep and rolled over, sticking his thumb in his mouth as he did. A small smile spread across her face as she turned off the lamp on the table beside the couch and walked into the kitchen.

She really had nothing to do at that point, except rearrange the items on the counter and put away the last of the silverware. InuYasha had gone out to find a grocery store and get some food for a couple of days. The money was tight, so they had to budget what they had until they could find jobs to see them through. Even then, they would be part time jobs, as InuYasha insisted that he and she both finished school. She sighed and shut the utensils drawer before leaning on the counter.

She was tired, but was too lazy to spread out the blankets on the living room floor. There weren't any beds in the house, and it would be at least a month before they could afford to get one. It was frightening, yet exciting at the same time. The feel of being one's own boss. Kagome had never known what that was like before, not with her step-mother reigning over her almost her entire life. Eventually she heard the car pull into the driveway as InuYasha returned home with only a couple of bags of groceries. When he got to the door, she opened it and took one of them from him, sluggishly walking herself over to the fridge to put the items away.

When she was done she folded up the bag and stuck it beside the fridge, taking the other bag from InuYasha and doing the same to it as well. All the while, her tiredness made her oblivious to what was going on around her. When she had finished, she stretched out, the hem of her shirt rising up over her belly button. Before she knew it, InuYasha had snuck up behind her and lightly tickled her sides before wrapping his arms around her torso and setting his head on her shoulder.

"Brat." she said lovingly as she place a hand lightly on his cheek and turning her own head to kiss him on the nose. He smiled a bit, and returned the token by kissing her deeply.

"I know." he replied in that same tender tone of voice as he nuzzled her neck and breathed her scent deeply. The world felt perfect when he held her, though his mind knew this was not so. He turned her around and placed another kiss on her lips before looking deeply into her eyes and smiling. "Come here."

"What is it?" she asked as he turned off the light in the kitchen and then covered her eyes. She could feel herself being led a short distance, then stopped, and finally sat down. When he lifted his hands and she opened her eyes the sight before her brought a smile to her face. They were in the living room and there was a blanket spread out on the floor and the room was lit with a few candles, giving it a soft, romantic glow. Shippo still lay sleeping soundly on the couch, oblivious to the world. Kagome let out a light gasp as she saw two wine glasses sitting next to an unopened bottle of sparkling wine.

"Allow me." InuYasha told her as he reached over and popped open the bottle, pouring each of them a glass of the fine drink. He handed one glass to Kagome and picked up the other for himself, staring at her a moment with a small smile on his face, and then down at his drink. He raised the glass slightly and said "To a semi-normal life."

"Normal, what's that?" Kagome joked in a hushed voice as they clinked together the glasses and took a drink.

"Heh, yea." he said quietly, sliding over by her and putting an arm around her shoulder.

"This is so sweet." she told him, taking his hand in her own. "But I thought we were nearly broke?"

"We are, but I felt as if we had to have a little special moment." he explained. "And, I never got the chance to tell you. To tell you that I love you."

Kagome could feel her heart swell with affection at those three words and found herself speechless. Her mind raced with amazement as she gazed into his warm eyes. Then, as if some ethereal force was there, the two were locked in a sweet and tender kiss. The world disappeared and it was just the two of them in existence for that brief moment. Kagome let out a quiet sigh when they finally parted and looked into his warm eyes.

"You don't have to tell me, because my heart can feel it." she told him, smiling lightly. _Finally, my world is perfect._

---_Mid-December_---

InuYasha leaned against the railing on the front porch as he waited for Kagome to finish helping Shippo with his coat and snow boots. A thick layer of snow covered the ground and it was quite cold out, thought the winter sun was shining brightly in the sky. Finally, the two came bounding out the door, almost running into him as they did. Shippo simply brushed it off and hopped down the steps before grabbing a snowball and tossing it at him.

"Hey, squirt, cut it out. We've gotta get going." he told him as he carefully walked down the icy steps, with Kagome following close behind. They all scrambled into the car and InuYasha started it up and turned on the heat.

"Wow, it's gotten cold so fast." Kagome said with surprise. Having lived near the south most of her life, she never really knew what a real winter was like. Still, she loved every new experience she encountered. Her biggest one having to hold down a job. There was a local 7-11 store near their home and she'd managed to get a job there. It was a good thing too, as InuYasha planned to shut the car up in the garage soon and leave it there, if and when they had to run away again.

"That's northern weather for you." InuYasha commented as they pulled into the 7-11 parking lot. "You sure you can take Shippo with you?"

"Yea." Kagome replied. "The other girl I work with brings her daughter in all the time."

"All right. I just hope my schedule changes so that one of us will be at home when the others working. It's a lot less stressful." he said as they scrambled out. InuYasha himself had to get to work. He'd found a job at a mechanics shop, repairing and rebuilding cars and things of the like. It paid rather well, and it kept them far enough out of the red that they didn't have to worry. "I'll see you at home later."

"Bye." Kagome said, waving lightly.

"See ya Uncle Yasha." Shippo said as well, smiling big and showing off a small gap where another of his teeth had fallen out. The two quickly made their way inside and out of the cold.

"Hey Kagome." said the other girl she worked with as she waved at her. Kagome took off her coat and hung it up on the hook in the back, and did the same with Shippo's before setting him up with a coloring book.

"Hey hun." Kagome said, joining her at the counter. She noticed that the girl was all dressed and ready to leave. "I thought you had this shift today too?"

"Didn't management tell you?" the girl asked. Kagome shook her head. "I'm being replaced, well, not replaced really. Me and my lil' girl are moving in with her dad, but he lives in Detroit. We're leaving today."

"What? Does this mean I gotta work the shift alone?" Kagome asked, not wanting to be stuck in the store with no one to talk to besides Shippo. Not that she didn't mind talking to him, but there was just so much one could discuss with an eight year old.

"No, management got some new guy or something. I dunno." she replied. "He's supposed to be in any time now; I just gotta wait for him to get here so I can give him my key to the register."

"Oh, okay, I guess." Kagome said, sighing lightly. She had the dead shift that day, so it was highly unlikely that any customers would be coming. That meant she'd have to chat up the new guy, and she wasn't quite sure if she'd like it.

As she stared blankly into space, the bell on the door rang and a man with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail walked inside. He smiled at both of the girls at the counter; though Kagome thought it looked more like a smirk. He sauntered over and leaned on the counter near Kagome, looking at her with brown hawk-like eyes. That simple look gave her a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and caused her to back away a step.

"Can I help you sir?" Kagome asked him, trying to figure out what this man wanted. The mans smirk grew wider and showed off his set of teeth. This made him appear more like an angry dog than a person.

"Why, yes." he said in response, straightening up and looking at both of the girls. "Could you tell me which of you lovely young ladies will be my new co-worker?"

"I have to get going. I'll miss you hun." said the girl simply as she waved to Kagome before rushing out the door into the cold. Kagome watched her go, but then remembered the man - her new colleague.

"I guess that'd be me." Kagome said in a low, wary voice as she extended her hand to him. He took it in his own and placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. She had to fight back a scowl and wiped her hand on her khaki pants when he let it go. He pulled off his jacket and hung it up on one of the hooks in the back. He took a moment to take an extra glance at Shippo, though Kagome hadn't noticed as she had been hurrying to rub hand sanitizer into her skin.

"By the way, my name is Koga." he said, standing in the doorway to the coat room and smiling that animalistic smirk again. This time Kagome could feel her spine tingle.

"I'm Kagome." she told him politely as he walked back to the counter and stood so close to her that she could smell his cheap cologne. She would move over a bit, but every time she did, he would just fill the gap she made. They didn't really say anything to one another the entire shift, mostly just standing there awkwardly, with only one or two customers during the entire shift. She was fortunate enough to have to occasionally check in on Shippo and make sure he had what he needed, which gave her the opportunity to get away from Koga, who obviously had never been taught what personal space was. However, when the little boy fell asleep, she was stuck with only him. Luckily, the shift was over shortly after and she made sure she hurried on leaving, getting Shippo up for the walk home and deeply hoping that she would not have to say anything to the intrusive man. Her efforts, conversely, were in vain.

"So, can I interest you in a cup of coffee or maybe something to eat before you head home?" Koga asked her in a flirtatious manner, as she was almost out the door. "My treat."

"I'm sorry, I can't." Kagome told him, taking Shippo's gloved hand in her own bare one" I need to get him to bed so he'll be awake in school tomorrow, and I have a boyfriend."

"Oh." he said, more dully than before. "So, he's your son then?"

"Oh!" Kagome said, realizing the impression she must have given Koga. "No, he's my boyfriend's nephew. We take care of him."

"Then, can I at least give you a ride home." Koga asked, his voice insistent. "Not to be nosy, but the only car in the lot is mine, so I assumed you could use a ride."

"No, we'll be fine. It's not that far." she said, just wanting to get home to her and small but comfortable bed.

"Then at least allow me to walk you home. It's the gentlemanly thing to do." he told her as she sighed and nodded, giving up on trying to weasel her way out of it. Koga smiled again and held the door open for them, snuggling right up to Kagome's free side when they were all out. Kagome groaned mentally, but decided not to say anything about it, but just that one night, seeing as he was new and all. They walked the few short blocks back to the small rental house, Koga acting like an overprotective pet the entire way. Kagome unlocked and opened the door, then had Shippo go inside while she turned back to Koga, who stood there waiting for her to say something.

"See, no problem. I hope this will be the last time you insist upon this." she said, standing on the top step while Koga stayed at the bottom of the porch, staring up at her with a discomforting look of desire in his eyes.

"Yes, the last time. I will see you next time." he said, finally turning away and leaving. She went inside and quickly locked the door behind her, watching out the window until he disappeared out of sight. However, just in case, she went and locked the back door as well. When she was done with all of that, she went back to getting Shippo into bed. The boy, still quite tired, had flopped down on the couch after taking off his winter jacket and boots, and had then fallen asleep. Kagome smiled at him and let him lay there, covering him in a blanket. She would have carried him into his room, but she was not only tired from being on her feet for so long, but she was mentally exhausted from having to deal with Koga. Silently, she turned off the house lights and settled herself into bed as well, glad that the day was over at last.

---_The 7-11 Parking Lot_---

Koga leaned against the side of his shitty rental car, puffing on a cigarette, the end glowing in the night. He finished that off and threw the butt off into a bush before opening the car door and flopping inside. He opened up the dash compartment and snagged a black flip phone from inside. He started up the engine and blasted the heat, warming up his cold fingers and cheeks before closing the compartment again. He squealed out of the parking lot and began driving to his hotel, which had to have been the most run down place in the entire city.

As he drove, he flipped open the phone with one hand and dialed a number before shoving the phone up against his ear as he sped along. It rang twice before finally being answered. Koga could hear a light music playing in the background, intermingling with the sounds of girls giggling and the tink of wine glasses. A voice, which was anything but calm, asked. "What the hell do you want?"

Koga laughed to himself and told the voice "It's me. The informant gave us credible information."

"Excellent." said the voice on the other line, which had fallen into a placid, emotionless tone. "Tell me, where are they skulking this time?"

"Well, they're in the same town that the informant told us, somewhere in the middle of Michigan." Koga replied, stopping abruptly when he caught a light and mumbled curses under his breath. "They're staying in a small house, a rental I think, he's got that girl with him. The one from the night at the hotel."

"That bitch. We'll have to make sure that she is properly dispatched before we set things into action." spoke the voice, clearly Sesshoumaru, who snapped a shrewd comment to the girls in his presence when they had gotten too loud, though Koga hadn't managed to hear it.

"Well, she **is** a pretty little thing. Probably a virgin too." Koga said, desire thick in his voice as he made a proposition. "You could just hand her over to me when you need it done and we can both benefit, if you know what I mean."

"You've not disobeyed me, yet, so I will take it under consideration." Sesshoumaru told him. "I'm in the process of coercing a prospective family into taking him, for a hefty fee of course, but it'll be difficult because he's so old. I'm getting a psychiatrist in to see if he can brainwash the little twerp."

"All very good. Should I get our informant his money now?" Koga asked, finally pulling into the parking lot of his hotel. He got out and slammed the door behind him as he made his way up to his room.

"Not yet. Tell him that he will get his payment in due time, but not until we've actually managed to get a hold of InuYasha and the kid." Sesshoumaru replied. "Now, I've other matters to attend to, I'll be in contact."

"All right." Koga said in short response as he snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket. He got to his room and slunk inside, shivering from the cold air and the lousy car heater. He grabbed out his pack of cigarettes and began smoking one, throwing the rest onto the end table next to a moldy bed with sheets too thin. He shivered a bit and took a puff from his cigarette. "Damn! It's fucking cold here. That bastard Sesshoumaru better pay me pretty damned well for this shit."


	12. A Lover's Passion

**Chapter Twelve: A Lover's Passion**

"_You little bitch! Lazing about like the indolent whore you are!"_

"_Please don't hit me again Momma! I promise that I'll get up earlier! I promise!"_

"_Quite begging like you're some kind of tramp. I'll not have you acting like that!"_

"_No! No! Not the dryer! Please, not the dryer!"_

"_Just be lucky that I don't turn it on while you're in there!"_

Kagome shot up in her bed so fast that it made her feel dizzy. She placed a hand to her head, trying to ease the feeling as the rest of her body shuddered at the horrible memory. For a moment her body froze, forgetting where she was and fearing her safety when she thought she was still in her old home. The feelings abated, both the dizziness and fear, and she realized that she was nowhere near her horrible step-mother anymore. The girl let out a deep sigh and rubbed her bare arms, trying to warm her cold flesh. Memories like that often came to her now that she was free from her former life.

However, they couldn't just leave her. They were a reminder of what she could be going through, if not for InuYasha. The thought of him brought a smile to her lips as she climbed from her bed and slunk out of the room, into the soft darkness of the house. It was almost four-thirty in the morning and the sun had just barely begun to rise above the horizon, painting the world a hazy shade in between black and white and full color. She crept carefully through the house into the kitchen. The bare, polished wood was cold against her feet, though the air tingled with a pleasant warmth.

She started up a pot of coffee, not bothering to try to fall sleep again, as she would be haunted by her dreams until her busy schedule pushed it all back into its proper place in the recesses of her mind. As the coffee brewed, she went and changed into a pair of black khaki pants with snap pockets and a army green fitted t-shirt with a zip hoodie in a darker shade of green, with only a pair of white socks to keep her feet warm. From there she brushed her hair quickly and tied it up in a loose ponytail.

She returned to the kitchen after that to pull out a cup and pour her coffee, leaning against the counter and carefully sipping the hot beverage. The sun was higher now and gave off a pleasant roseate glow of dawn. InuYasha would be up soon, getting himself ready for another tireless day at work. She, however, had the luxury of a day off that day; a day that she had already filled with plans. She smiled to herself as she heard a small noise from the bedroom across from hers. She set her half-finished cup of coffee on the counter and poured a fresh cup for InuYasha, who was sure to be scurrying about.

He showed up a few minutes later hopping lightly on one foot as he put a sock on, then pulled his red work shirt over his head. He smiled at her when he saw her and then went straight for the hot cup of coffee waiting for him. He kissed her forehead and said "Thanks much."

"You're welcome." she told him as he disappeared into the bathroom to brush out his hair. She pushed off of the counter and wandered into the living room, plopping down on the couch and turning it to one of the local news stations, but not paying much attention to it. InuYasha mingled about, finishing up getting himself ready before he kissed her again and slipped out the door, waving his hand. The engine of his station wagon rumbled to life and disappeared down the street. Knowing that he was gone, Kagome got up from her cozy spot and snuck back into the kitchen. There in the dish drainer were the clean dishes that she had washed the night before. Among them was a long, serrated knife which she could see glinting in the early morning sun. She approached slowly, as if it were some skittish animal, and extended her hand gradually.

Kagome took hold of the sharp tool and flipped it around in her hand so that she held the handle instead of the blade. She looked around her, as if someone were to sneak up and catch her in the act. When she saw no one, she disappeared into her room, shutting the door behind her and sliding her back down it until she was sitting on the floor. She unbuttoned her khaki's and slid them down a ways, showing off the bare skin near her lower abdomen. With the skilled precision from years of practice, she delved the blade into her own flesh, bidding her blood to flow out. It came in long streams as she cut again, again, and one last time. She watched as it flowed warm down her skin, the tiny streams of her crimson life force forming a small river that soaked her dark pants. And all the time she watched, the pain making her numb to everything else, making her mind clear.

Such dreams as hers this morning invoked such actions in her. The sheer memory of such horrible past experiences filled her with a darkness that only the act of self-infliction could cure it. She was happy, truly she was, happier than she had been in many countless years, but this was just something she couldn't rid herself of. She tried, she tried quite hard to forget her past and focus on the future, but it wasn't that easy. Harming herself helped her to escape that world where she, even in her happiest time, was still a broken soul. If InuYasha found out, he wouldn't be happy with her, but that was why she waited until he left to do her deed and it was why she quit cutting in noticeable places, like her arms. She chose more hidden places, ones that were almost always covered by cloth.

As the bleeding ebbed, she let out a sigh and came out of her obscure state of mind, falling back into reality. She stood again, the knife still in her hand, and returned to the kitchen, rinsing the stained blade with water before running warm water over a wash cloth, which she used to clean away the extra blood. She buttoned her pants again and poured herself some more coffee, returning to her spot on the couch as if she had been there the entire time.

---_Noonish_---

"Shippo! Hurry up or we'll miss the bus!" Kagome called, now bundled it a warm dark blue jacket. The little boy came bounding down the stairs at her call, also dressed up in winter clothes. He smiled at her and waved a sheet of paper before grabbing her hand as the rushed out the door to the nearby bus stop.

"Here Kagome!" he said brightly, waving the paper up near her and grinning a big smile. She took the note, his letter to Santa, and read it over, trying to memorize all of the things on the list. "Do you think Santa will be there today?"

"I'm sure he will be." Kagome told him, smiling back. They were taking a quick trip to the local mall so they could get some Christmas shopping done. She had saved a little extra of her cash that hadn't gone towards rent or groceries and planned to use it to buy InuYasha and Shippo each something special for the holiday. She'd have to be sneaky about it though, because she could tell that Shippo would easily notice something extra with their purchases. That was why she was going to have him visit with Santa. Hopefully, the joy of meeting the holly jolly elf himself would keep the boy excited enough that he wouldn't see her picking out his present.

The bus showed up a few minutes later and they boarded, paying the fare and sitting in a seat. They idly watched out the window, taking in parts of the town they didn't normally get to see, until they came to the mall. It was a busy day there. Other shoppers were bustling in and out, some of them with only a small bag or two, but others had their arms heavily laden with gifts. The twosome scoured the mall, finally deciding on a perfect gift for InuYasha. After that, they stopped in the food court for lunch. They each got a burger, a drink, and split a large thing of fries. While they sat, Shippo chattered about everything he'd been doing in school and the new friends he was making. They were almost finished when someone made an unwanted visit.

"Hey!" called a voice as a familiar man came walking up, waving politely at the two. Kagome wasn't sure who he was at first, but as he got closer, she could see that it was none other than her new co-worker, Koga. He grabbed a chair from a table nearby and sat down close to Kagome, smiling at her before ruffling Shippo's hair. "Hey…Kagome, right? Hey squirt."

"I'm not a squirt." Shippo told him obstinately as he pushed the mans hand back and scooted away from him, a frown deep on his face.

"Shippo, he was only playing around." Kagome said nicely. She wasn't all too happy to see the man, but wasn't about to be rude to him. After all, she did have to work with him. "And yea, it is Kagome. How are you Koga?"

"I'm fine and dandy, thanks for asking." he replied, a sickening sweet smile on his face. "Yourself?"

"We're good." she told him, grabbing a fry and munching on it to hide the fact that she was gritting her teeth.

"That's good. What brings you here?" he asked, smiling that smile again as he leaned back in his chair.

"Shopping, what else." she replied, wishing that he'd go away.

"Ah." he said, pausing a moment, his voice changing into a sound of concern. "I suppose that boyfriend of yours is lurking about somewhere then?"

"Uh, no." she told him, not wanting to discuss her life with a stranger. "He had to work today."

"Pity." said Koga. "You think you'd mind if I joined you for a bit then, seeing as how I'm new around these parts and don't know where much is."

"Well, I don't know." Kagome said, mentally cursing him. "We really don't know much of anything around here either."

"Oh, well then, maybe we'll just find out together." he said, putting an arm on the back of her chair and leaning in a little to close for comfort.

"Not today." she said quickly as she stood and grabbed her mess. "Are you ready to go Shippo?"

"Yea." Shippo told her, standing and crossing his arms before giving Koga a bitter glare. Kagome grabbed the rest of the mess on the table and deposited it in a trash bin. The two walked away, leaving Koga where he was sitting. He didn't get up and attempt to follow, which made Kagome feel a little more comfortable. There was just something about that man that made her terribly uncomfortable. She was not alone in that opinion, as in both encounters with him, Shippo seemed to feel rather unfriendly towards him, which was something Kagome hadn't seen in the boy before.

However, with that part of there day now behind them, they stopped in to see Santa, which made Shippo's face light up with happiness as he gave the jolly man in the red suit his wish list. Kagome couldn't help but smile at the sight. After the visit, Shippo was in a near stupor the rest of the day, which gave her plenty of opportunity to get a couple of gifts for him and for them to get home before InuYasha did. That way she could stash the presents in her room, where neither boy would find them.

---_Koga's Room_---

Koga sat at a worn out desk, staring at a black and white picture on a screen. He smiled devilishly and took a swig from the flask sitting next to him. He was watching them as they came home. He had hacked himself into their lives and they didn't know it. After his brief encounter with them at the mall, which was only a vague surprise, he had used that time to break into the home and install spy surveillance. He could hear everything they said and see everything they did. Best of all, he wasn't the only one watching. It was a wireless feed and he could send it anywhere he wanted. At the moment, he was sending the pictures via internet connection directly to Sesshoumaru.

"You've done well, as always." praised a voice through the speakers of the computer.

"Thank you, sir." Koga replied, talking into the microphone on his headset as he reached over and grabbing his cigarettes and lighter. He lit one up, taking long drags out of it as his eyes scanned several other screens displaying exactly what was happening in every room of the house. He watched as Kagome slowly undressed herself and smiled perversely at the sight.

"The deal fell through with the family I had set up for the twerp." Sesshoumaru said on the other end, he too watching several monitors, him being focused on the boy, who sat staring vacantly into a television screen as silly cartoons played. "I feel it best to leave them with their false sense of security for now, at least until I can arrange another family for him."

"I'll keep my eye on them, boss." Koga told him, his eyes flashing away from Kagome for a moment as the kitchen door swung open and InuYasha entered in an unceremonious manner. He turned back to where she had been, only to see flashes of her, now fully dressed, pass across the screens as she greeted him at the door with a kiss. They talked about something, but he wasn't listening as he was on the phone, but he knew they had to be endearing words, for both smiled happily. He felt an anger deep within him, a jealous streak that flared bitterly at the sight of the two together. _I _**MUST**_ have her._

"I've also been thinking it over, your proposition." Sesshoumaru said, also watching the endearing scene between his bastard little brother and his bitch. "When the time comes, you're free to do whatever you wish with the girl."

"Thank you, sir." Koga said, a malicious smile spread far across his face. "I'll update frequently."

"Good, goodbye." came the response.

"Goodbye." said Koga as the other end went dead. He watched Kagome again, taking in every inch of her and lusting for the moment he could have his way with her. He brought a hand to the screen and touched her, whispering in a fanatic tone. "She's mine. All mine. You hear that Kagome, I **_own_** you."

---_The Kitchen_---

"Welcome home." Kagome said, walking across the kitchen to greet InuYasha as he came inside. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her softly. She returned the kiss and sighed when they parted. InuYasha looked down at her and smiled brightly, hugging her tight and placing a head on her shoulder.

"It's good to be home." he told her breaking away so he could stretch out and pull off his shoes, dropping by the door. She took his jacket for him and hung it over the back of a chair as he disappeared into his room. She smiled to herself and flipped off the kitchen light, making her way into the living room where Shippo had made himself a fort of blankets, pillows, and cushions from the couch. She giggled lightly, loving him for his creativity.

"Knock knock." she said, walking around to the front of the fort where the little boy had made an opening so he could watch the television from inside. She bent down and looked inside, seeing Shippo curled up with a pillow and blanket, fast asleep on the floor. She smiled and carefully removed the cushions and pillows that made the roof of the fort.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" InuYasha asked, walking up and grabbing her from around the waist before glancing down into the fort. He smiled when he saw his nephew fast asleep.

"I'm just going to put him to bed." Kagome said, gently pulling a hand from around her waist and bringing it to her lips, where she kissed his fingertips gently. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before letting her go. She bent over and reached into the fort to pick Shippo up. She turned and walked over to the stairwell, climbing up into his bedroom, closely followed by InuYasha. She set him in his bed and covered him up, smiling as she watched him sleep.

"He's a cutie, huh?" InuYasha whispered to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and smiling as well.

"Yea." she said, turning around to hug him. "I just can't believe that your brother would want to sell his own son."

"Well, some people are cruel, heartless bastards." he said, taking her by the hand and turned around to head back down the stairs. "Come on, let's go."

They made their way back down the stairs and InuYasha went to sit and watch the news while Kagome went around turning off the other lights in the house. When she was finally done, she sulked over to the couch and sat down with a relieved sigh before gently closing her eyes. He glanced over at her, a small smile on his face as he slowly got up from his seat and crept over to her. He leaned down by her side and gently kissed her forehead.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled, lifting her arms and wrapping them around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until their lips met. He eagerly returned the kiss, smiling gently when it was over. He raised a hand and caressed her cheek softly, before brushing a strand of hair away from her captivating brown eyes. In the darkness, he could see her blushing.

"Come on beautiful, it's time for bed." he told her in a whisper, backing away holding out a hand to help her up. She took it and stood up, stretching out and slowly making her way to her room. InuYasha followed behind.

"Goodnight." Kagome said softly, stopping by her door and turning to face him. She turned back, placing a hand on the knob, but stopped before she opened it because InuYasha had taken a hold of her hand. She turned back again and he pulled her close to him, nuzzling her neck.

"Kagome, please, stay with me tonight." he said into her neck, kissing it lightly.

"Yes." she said, craning her neck so her mouth was right next to his ear. With out anymore words, the two slipped through the night into his room. Kagome walked over to the bed and lay down, sliding over so he could lie next to her. He sat down and rolled over to face her, leaning himself over her body and smiling. She smiled back as he brushed his fingertips over her lips before kissing her again. She could feel him slide a hand up the side of her shirt and gently caress her curves.

She did not stop him. Something about it all seemed so right. He kissed her again, more deeply and more intensely than before. She returned the kiss just as fervently. It felt like electricity was crackling beneath her skin and it was all such a new experience. Before she knew it, the two tenderly made love beneath the cool cotton sheets and when it was all over, Kagome felt a feeling of completeness like she'd never know before.

InuYasha now lay next to her, a light layer of perspiration over his skin as he breathed heavily. He curled up next to her and wrapped and arm around her waist, kissing her neck before whispering in her ear. "Kagome, I love you more than anything else in this world. I want you to be by my side forever. I want you to marry me. Please, say yes."

"Yes." she said, turning over to face him and kissing his lips briefly. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."


	13. A Christmas Surprise

**Authors Note: **Yes, I'm back. I've finally got some initiative to work on my stories again. Perhaps it's boredom. I don't know. I'll try to update this again real soom with a chapter that has a little more relevance to the story than this one. Anywho, please read, and if you've enjoyed this, leave a review. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

**Chapter Thirteen: A Christmas Surprise**

"CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS! WAKE UP!" screamed Shippo as he bolted down the stairs one snowy morning. Kagome was already sitting by the tiny fake tree in a sweater, pajama bottoms, and Santa hat, giggling at his wide-eyed, happy expression. InuYasha, who'd been in the bathroom tying back his hair, managed to snatch the boy as he leapt off the bottom step and twirled him around.

"Merry Christmas!" InuYasha said, giving the boy a hug before setting him down. Shippo broke out into a run again towards the tree, smiling a huge cheerful grin as he read the names on the brightly wrapped packages.

"Presents! I have presents, Uncle Yasha." Shippo said with awe, turning to his uncle a moment. "Santa must have been able to figure out where we lived this year!"

Kagome gave InuYasha a puzzled look and stood up before walking over to him. She pulled him aside as Shippo dug through the small pile of presents, pulling out all that were his and stacking them in a pile. "He's never had Christmas presents before?"

"No." he replied. "We've moved around so much that I haven't had the time to go out and get him something. I've felt horrible about it. At least with me, he knows about Christmas. Most of his life with my brother was spent in a small room with nothing besides a bed and a few broken toys. He didn't know anything about the world until I came along."

"That's horrible. I'm glad he's got you, and I'm glad I've got you too." Kagome said with a smile as she stood on her toes and kissed him. InuYasha blushed slightly as she took his hand and pulled him back into the living room. "Come on, you've got presents this year too!"

"I do?" he asked, glancing down at the tree and seeing two packages intended for him. One was small and neatly wrapped in candy cane striped paper with a single red bow on top, while the other was bulky, wrapped in green Christmas tree paper, and bedecked with six different colored bows. InuYasha turned back to her and smiled boyishly.

"OPEN MINE FIRST!" screamed Shippo, rushing over to the tree to snatch up his gift for his uncle. He thrust it at him, a huge grin wide across his face as he bobbed with anticipation.

"Okay." InuYasha said with a laugh, taking the gift from the boy and sitting down in a nearby lazy chair. He tore at the wrapping paper and discarded in a pile at his feet as he looked at what he'd gotten. It was a white t-shirt with a custom screen print on it. "It's wonderful."

"I drew the picture myself." Shippo said with pride. "That's you, that's Kagome, and that's me. It's our family!"

"Here, you can open this one next." She said, handing him his other gift and smiling sweetly at him. He opened it and looked inside. It was a brand new watch.

"This is great. I've needed a new one of this. I stepped on my last one." he said, taking it out and looking at it. On the back, there was an engraving of a key. "What's this?"

"The key to my heart." she told him, leaning up to kiss him. Shippo groaned and went back to playing with his gifts, ignoring the other two and their icky displays of love. InuYasha returned her kiss and went over to the tree again, reaching into the way back where he'd hidden an extra special gift for her.

"Kagome, this is for you." he said, handing it to her. It was a small black box that jewelry came in. She lifted the cover and her jaw dropped. It was a ring. A beautiful ring with a silver band and a heart-shaped ruby in between two smaller, sparkling diamonds.

"It's so beautiful." Kagome told him, tears in her eyes as she looked at it again. She let out a gasp at how wonderful the ring was, at a loss for words, as he took her hand.

"Kagome, this ring is a symbol of my love for you." he said, taking the ring from the box and sliding it onto her finger, leaning in real close to her and whispering quietly near her ear. "Think of it as an engagement ring."

"Oh my goodness." she said, putting a hand over her mouth as she looked at the ring on her hand. She could feel a few tears fall from her eyes as she reached out and embraced him. It had been so long since she had felt genuinely loved that it seemed so impossible that she had it now. Still, she couldn't help but feel that same love for him, a love she never thought she could be capable of. Not after the life she had lived before. And that former life seemed so far and distant, another reality, from what she had now, right before her.

She turned her head up and slowly kissed him, taking in his warmth and his love, hoping to preserve that moment in her mind forever. For it was such a perfect moment that she wanted it to last and last. He returned the kiss and held her. It felt so right, being with her. After everything in his life that was so damned wrong, she was the one right thing he had found. He wanted to keep her in his arms forever and he was almost afraid in that same moment, because this was so new to him and he knew that now he could never lose her. He would die if that happened. When the two finally pulled away all they could do was smile.

"Does this mean we're a real family now!" Shippo's voice surprised them as the little boy came running into his uncle's arms, his eyes wide with happiness. Kagome leaned over and kissed the little boy on the cheeks and tousled his rusty red hair.

"Yes. We're family now and forever." she told him. He smiled and hugged her, jumping back out of InuYasha's arms and back to his new toys.

"Family? For once that doesn't sound so bad." he reached for her hand, staring deeply into her warm eyes. Finally, what they all had dreamed of had become reality. Kagome had someone who loved her and would never hurt her. InuYasha found someone who made his life seem good for the first time in his life. As for Shippo, he had gotten something he had never known: parents who loved him or at least, people who loved him like he was their own child.


End file.
